Andrea Buchloh-Adler is Works Manager at City Image Maintenance Kaislerslautern. This in-house department of the City of Kaiserslautern uses the RAL Quality Mark for Reverse Consumption for its three recycling centres. In an interview with the RAL Quality Marks Magazine, Mrs. Buchloh-Adler explains why her company uses the RAL Quality Mark, how customers benefit as a result and how compliance with the Quality Assurance and Test Specifications is ensured.
Name of the company: City Image Maintenance Kaislerslautern – in-house department of the City of Kaiserslautern
Holder of the RAL Quality Mark since: August 2021
Location: Recycling centre on Daennerstraße 17, 67657 Kaiserslautern; recycling centre on Pfaffstraße 3, 67655 Kaiserslautern; recycling centre on Siegelbacher Straße 187, 67659 Kaiserslautern
Number of employees: 330
Products/services: Waste disposal, street cleaning, road maintenance, green space maintenance
Programme of products/services: At the recycling centres: Acceptance of normal household quantities of waste materials suitable for recycling; provision of additional bin bags for organic waste and residual waste for a fee, as well as yellow bin bags for residents of the city centre in exchange for a collection card; acceptance of normal household quantities of harmful substances by the environmental truck on collection days; acceptance and redistribution of recyclable household objects, used clothes and books at the recycling centre on Daennerstraße (ReUse shelves, ReUse rail, Re-Use bookshelves)
Sales/operational area: City of Kaiserslautern and its districts
Website: https://www.stadtbildpflege-kl.de
1) Why did you decide to have your products/services certified with the RAL Quality Mark?
City Image Maintenance Kaislerslautern uses the RAL Quality Mark to highlight the importance and quality of its recycling centres so that customers can learn to appreciate them and make more use of the communal services for a circular economy that are offered there. We want to encourage more reverse consumption by, for example, making the disposal process easy to understand, developing transparent recycling paths and demonstrating how resources can be handled sensibly.
2) What is special about these products/services, what distinguishes you from the competition?
The recycling centres operated by City Image Maintenance Kaislerslautern are the first facilities in Rhineland-Palatinate to be awarded the RAL Quality Mark for Reverse Consumption. The three recycling centres are designed to be customer friendly and to promote a circular economy. As part of the circular economy, they provide customers with important information on the careful handling of resources. Employees provide customers with expert advice at the centres. The ReUse area at the recycling centre on Daennerstraße not only enables people to dispose of old products but also makes them directly available for reuse. Customers can hand in their household objects, clothing and books, which can then be collected and reused by other customers free of charge.
3) What advantages does the RAL quality assurance system offer to customers?
Our recycling centres are an important part of the circular economy. Trained specialists are always available to help and offer advice to customers at the centres. Consequently, our recycling centres stand out because they focus on delivering high quality services that are easily accessible to the public. The RAL Quality Market guarantees that our customers will receive this level of service. Furthermore, we have set up a ReUse area that enables customers to swap items amongst one another and demonstrates that many products can still be reused before they become completely useless.
4) How do you ensure that the services associated with the RAL Quality Mark are actually provided?
Our employee manual guarantees that every employee is familiar with the different processes at the recycling centres and also aware of the general procedures. In addition, employees are suitably qualified and the majority of them have worked there for numerous years. They also receive training when there are any updates or amendments to the manual.
