Speyer is preparing for New Year's Eve: fireworks with conditions!

On December 29, 2024, fireworks items may be sold in Speyer on three days. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, burning down Böllern is legal. In the city center of Speyer, however, special requirements apply, and not all supermarkets take part in the sale of fireworks. Due to the demand, the Rewe market on Schifferstadter Strasse expects high sales with fireworks items. The market has decided centrally to offer fireworks, while Rewe only provides a limited offer on the Altpörtel. In contrast, the Edeka markets of Benjamin and Sven Stiegler have not been selling fireworks for three years, which stems with animal welfare, environmental protection and respect for rescue workers justify. Bauhaus in Speyer also does not participate in the fireworks sale.

The city of Speyer asks the citizens to reluctance Böllern for environmental and animal welfare reasons. Mayor Stefanie Seiler also warns of the risk of injury from fireworks. For this reason, the city has issued a general order that prohibited the burning of pyrotechnics on Altpörtel and in Maximilianstrasse on December 31, 2024 and on January 1, 2025. This is done due to hazard risks for people and for the wooden stalls of the New Year's market. The municipal enforcement service and a security company will check the affected area. In addition, the burning of pyrotechnic objects near the places that are worth protecting particularly protecting is prohibited

environmental aspects of the fireworks

fireworks are an integral part of the New Year's tradition, but criticism of its environmental impact grows. In addition to the risk of injury and the causes of the noise, the New Year's fireworks are associated with CO2 and fine dust emissions. Political and civil society initiatives are therefore calling for more comprehensive bans or even abolishing the New Year's Eve fireworks. According to the BVPK, New Year's Eve fireworks are associated with fine dust emissions of up to 5,000 tons per year, but it is found that projections overestimate the actual emission volume by more than two thirds. In fact, New Year's Eve fireworks only contribute to the annual fine dust with 0.7 %.

The comparison of fine dust emissions by fireworks and cars is misleading, since fine dust from fireworks only occurs on New Year, while car emissions occur all year round. In addition, fine dust from fireworks is considered toxicologically harmless in the quantities. The applicable standards for the production of fireworks exclude dangerous substances. Fossil CO2 emissions made of fireworks account for only 0.00013 % of the annual greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. It is also found that there is no clear connection between fine dust and global warming.