Fight for building rubble: Büttelborn in concern about radiation -controlled material!

Fight for building rubble: Büttelborn in concern about radiation -controlled material!

On February 11, 2025, the Hessian Administrative Court in Kassel made a controversial judgment: Freely measured rubble from the disused Biblis nuclear power plant may be stored in the Büttelborn landfill. This decision, which the municipality of Büttelborn and its citizens' initiative "Büttelborn21" significantly unsettles, means that the operator RWE can now deliver 3,200 tons of rubble. The citizens' initiative, represented by Armin Hanus, was disappointed: "Viewed at short notice, we lost the fight."

The court pointed out that the rubble is considered "free" as long as the radiation exposure remains below 10 microsievers per year and person. For comparison: The Federal Environment Ministry documents that the annual burden of other environmental influences is 2,400 microsievers per person. Despite these figures, there are concerns about the harmony of the material in Büttelborn, since outliers with higher radiation could possibly be available.

context and legal background

The Hessian Administrative Court thus confirmed an earlier judgment of the Darmstadt Administrative Court, which the South Hessian Waste Equaluation GmbH (SAVAG) had obliged to accept the building. However, two more lawsuits against the deposit are currently pending at the Darmstadt Administrative Court. These complaints do not affect the current decision, but offer the community hope for future legal success.

The landfill in Büttelborn was obliged in July 2023 by the Darmstadt regional council to store the building, after no other landfills were willing to accept the waste nationwide. "The judgment cannot be contested and allows immediate enforcement," according to the legal framework. Matthias Schimpf, CEO of the Waste Management Association Kreis Bergstraße (ZAKB), announced that it would have further talks with RWE and the landfill driver.

concerns on site and potential effects

The decision is based on great resistance among the population. Farmers fear a loss of image for their products because the landfill is surrounded by nature reserves and fertile arable land. Mayor Marcus Merkel (SPD) expressed his concerns about the possible development of an experience park on the landfill area. The presentation of the waste could have negative effects on the attractiveness of the region, which is criticized by many citizens.

Stefan Metzger from the Zweckverband Riedwerke criticized the court decisions and found that the judgments are made "from the desk". The ZAKB also sees further clarification needs for the fees for the deposit, since there are different prices between ZAKB and the operator Savag. If no agreement is reached, the ZAKB could again take legal action.

In a broad spectrum of fears and hopes, the citizens of Büttelborn now hopes that the main proceedings are decided in their favor to prevent the delivery from being delivered. The uncertainty about the exact time of delivery also remains, while RWE already has 40 to 60 tons of the material in preparation.

In view of the complex situation around the building rubble from Biblis, an intensive discussion about the health risks and environmental pollution in the region will continue to be conducted. The coming weeks and months could be decisive for how this topic is developing.

For more details on this topic, read Tagesschau href = "https://www.euwid-recycling.de/news/wirtschaft-bestaetigt-buettelborn-muss-bauschutt-vom-akw-biblis-don href = "https://www.buettelborn21.de"> Büttelborn21 .