Date of label : 29/10/2024
Summary
Halle 2, the municipal second-hand shop in Munich (DE), is a vital part of the waste prevention activities of the Munich Waste Management Corporation (AWM). It operates in collaboration with local non-profit organisations in the secondary labour market. After citizens drop items off at their nearest recycling centre, the items are sorted and priced, tested and repaired, then sold in the second-hand store or online. There are also repair cafés, pop-up stores, an ebay channel, auctions, and events. A virtual shopping service supports people with limited mobility. Halle 2 is a good practice for combining sustainability and societal responsibility. It also serves as a “reuse-lab” to improve the collection, evaluation and selling of used goods and items.
The solutions offered by the Good Practice
In 2001, the AWM opened its first second-hand shop to improve its reuse activities, and installed collection points in existing recycling centres. The larger Halle 2 shop opened in 2016, complemented by city centre pop-up stores and a local online platform. Halle 2 extends the lifespan of everyday goods, such as bicycles and electronic devices.
By creating entry-level jobs and offering job training, Halle 2 enhances the local (secondary) labour market. Citizens can donate their items or/and buy affordable goods. The Halle 2 concept, and its cultural and educational programme, has gaining much public attention.
Munich aims to be a ‘Zero Waste City’ and climate-neutral by 2035, while its ‘Perspective Munich’ concept focuses on sustainability. Halle 2 is financed by garbage fees, and aims to be economically self-sustaining.
In 2023, Munich City Council approved Halle 2’s expansion, funded by pop-up stores, and the hire and sale of used city administration furniture. The new ‘Re:lektro’ campaign will promote the extended use and optimised collection of small electrical devices.
Building on the sustainable and integrated urban approach
The integration of environmental, economic and social solutions is at the heart of the Halle 2 concept. The strategic goal is to reduce waste, improve recycling rates, and strengthen sustainable lifestyles through several sub-targets:
- Social: Affordable used products sold at a community meeting place.
- Education: Halle 2 provides campaigns and links to a digital knowledge platform on reuse/repair with a local second-hand guide.
- Innovation: AWM explores new methods for awareness campaigning, through repair cafés, partnering with ‘sharing economy’ stakeholders and social entrepreneurs, upcycling workshops, art shows and music performances, science conferences, lectures, etc.
- Job opportunities: In cooperation with partners, Halle 2 offers on-job training at social enterprises for target groups like young and long-term unemployed people, enabling them to achieve entry-level qualification as mechanics, for example, by repairing bicycles or electronic equipment.
- Public budget: Potential profits contribute to stabilising waste fees.
Based on participatory approach
Halle 2 is creating and maintaining a range of services and event programmes with several local NGOs, especially dedicated to the secondary job market (sorting, testing, repairing) and sustainability:
- Anderwerk München: supports young people, migrants and the unemployed, by offering German courses, training, and workshops for cars, electronics, recycled and used goods.
- ConJob Recycling: Certified waste management and social employment company, for electronics recycling.
- Hei – Haus der Eigenarbeit: Regular repair cafés - bring and repair your device with expert support at Halle 2.
- Klima-Puzzle: Learning workshops, based on scientific research.
- Umwelt-Akademie e.V. (Academy of Environmental Protection): Lectures and educational activities.
- R18 – Bike services: Repairing old bikes received from the recycling centres, to be resold at Halle 2.
- Erfindergarden (Garden of Inventors): A Library of Tools.
Halle 2 is also cooperating with MBQ – Munich’s secondary job market programme in the Department of Labour and Economic Development.
What difference has it made?
Today, Halle 2 generates an income of EUR 60 000 per month on average, with around 200 000 items sold per year. It has a main sales area of 1 000 m² and a 600 m² storage area. About 4 300 customers visit Halle 2 every month, each customer spending EUR 13 on average. 183 containers of goods (168 360 kg) and 1 811 ‘junk’ wooden palettes (332 210 kg) are handled per year. The 12 regular recycling centres of the City of Munich have been upgraded, with the installation of special Halle 2 collection points. All this saves more than 500 tons of waste per year, and 2 800 tons of CO² emissions per year, representing a great success in terms of waste prevention in the city. Halle 2 permanently employs a selling team of six members, and a merchandise, goods and stock management team of eight people.
Why this Good Practice should be transferred to other cities
Halle 2 contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (Climate action), and SDG 16 (Peaceful societies).
It aligns with the Urban Agenda for the EU, the EU Territorial Agenda, the European Green Deal, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, and all aspects of the New Leipzig Charter for sustainable cities. With the new EU Repair Act, the practice becomes even more relevant, given it promotes reuse actions at local level.
Halle 2 complies with Germany’s Circular Economy Law, focusing on reuse. The city cooperates with civil society and non-profit organisations in equal partnerships, to create a ‘reuse-lab’ that emphasises ongoing learning for city administrations and stakeholders.
The practice is scalable, and is suitable for further digitalisation. The core ideas – reuse and repair, waste prevention, and integration of civil society – can be realised with less partners, a reduced scale of services and goods, or online selling. A physical store, as a place for meeting and connecting, can be any size or a pop-up.
For effective transfer, the practice should use existing infrastructure, for example, waste collection points, and be supported by municipal public relations and information campaigns. Strong cooperation with local NGOs, and ongoing political commitment are key factors. Furthermore, in a transfer city the opportunity should not be missed to use the practice as a testbed for circular economy processes and tools.
Halle 2 has gained recognition at the European level, winning a Eurocities award in 2017 and being included in URBACT’s Action Planning Network ‘LET’S GO CIRCULAR!.