Fireworks industry hopes for a dazzling end to the year
For two years, the pyrotechnics industry has had to suffer: due to the coronavirus, rockets and firecrackers are banned at the turn of the year. Last year, manufacturers such as Comet, Weco and Nico made up for some of the losses with record sales. The industry is also expecting good business this year.
The Association of the Pyrotechnic Industry expects demand for New Year's Eve fireworks to be as high as last year. In 2022, the industry achieved record sales of 180 million euros. "Demand was huge, the pent-up demand was obviously high," said Managing Director Klaus Gotzen. Fireworks were banned on New Year's Eve 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus. Gotzen emphasized that the industry is optimistic that demand will be high again this year.
The fireworks industry generates 90 percent of its annual sales on the three working days before New Year's Eve. The sale of rockets, firecrackers and the like to consumers nationwide is set to begin on Thursday.
The Bremerhaven-based fireworks company Comet has a market share of 30 percent in Germany and has its production facilities in China. Last year, Comet achieved a turnover of around 50 million euros. "It would be nice to come close to that again," said Managing Director Richard Eickel.
Comet's competitors include Nico from Berlin and Weco from Eitorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Weco, it is the only remaining major German manufacturer of fireworks. Weco is also optimistic about this year's New Year's Eve business. "We have a tailwind from last season," emphasized sales manager Oliver Gerstmeier.
Criticism due to waste, noise and health hazards
Since last year, the industry has been focusing on pyrotechnics and packaging with less plastic content. Rocket tip caps, bases and fuse covers, which were previously made of plastic, have reportedly been replaced by cardboard or plant fibers. The reduction in plastic content would "save hundreds of tons of waste", emphasized association head Gotzen.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, however, spent fireworks, multi-shot batteries and firecrackers should never be disposed of in the paper garbage can. Because of the chemicals they contain, they belong in the residual waste, according to the agency. To prevent the toxic residues from being washed away with rain or melting water and getting into the soil and water, the waste should be disposed of promptly.
However, much of it often remains on roads and sidewalks. The Association of Municipal Companies announced that in the five largest German cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main alone, municipal waste disposal companies regularly remove around 200 tons of New Year's Eve waste on New Year's Day. However, this is by no means all that is produced: a large proportion is collected by the regular street cleaning service in the days that follow.
Fireworks are repeatedly criticized, not only because of the waste, but also because of the environmental, noise and health impact as well as the risk of injury. The German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe recently renewed its call for a ban on fireworks at the turn of the year. The Hamburg Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union is calling for people to voluntarily refrain from using fireworks. Fireworks not only cause enormous pollution from fine dust and a lot of garbage, they also harm wildlife.
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Despite the firecracker ban at the turn of the year due to the coronavirus, the pyrotechnics industry is hopeful about high demand for New Year's Eve fireworks, as they saw record sales of 180 million euros in 2022. Critics, however, continue to call for a ban on fireworks due to environmental, noise, and health impacts, as well as the resulting waste.
Source: www.ntv.de
