"Strong Partners for the Re-Wave in East Westphalia-Lippe" is a model project aimed at promoting municipal circular economy structures in the region of East Westphalia-Lippe (abbreviated OWL, per its German name Ostwestfalen-Lippe). The project team seeks to systematically embed the reuse of second-hand goods within municipal structures, thereby reducing waste volumes, conserving resources, and strengthening regional value creation. Using the City of Herford as a case study, the project team introduces, tests, and further develops organisational and procedural innovations to this end.
The core of the project is the development of a Zero Waste concept for the City of Herford, combined with the implementation of standardised procedures for reuse. For this purpose, DIN/TS 35205:2024-09 (Guide to re-use and preparing for re-use of electrical appliances, textiles, furniture and other household items – Recommendations for setting up, implementing and optimizing corresponding business models) will, for the first time, be fully implemented at a municipal recycling center of the City of Herford as well as at a reuse facility operated by Arbeitskreis Recycling e.V. In addition, the guideline will be integrated as a quality management component into the certification process for reuse enterprises of the umbrella organisation Re-Use Deutschland e.V.
The Wuppertal Institute provides scientific support to the project through monitoring, impact assessment, and evaluation, and is responsible for the transfer of results. To this end, the project team systematically analyses the findings and prepares them in a way that ensures their applicability and transferability to other municipalities. On this basis, the project contributes to the practice-oriented further development of municipal circular economy systems – and demonstrates how reuse can be sustainably anchored as a permanent component of municipal practices.