Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe

What Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe does

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR) is the state-owned municipal waste management and street cleaning utility of the State of Berlin (Land Berlin), wholly owned and operating as a landeseigenes Unternehmen. Founded in 1899 and headquartered at Ringbahnstraße 96 in Berlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg with a new Südkreuz headquarters opened in 2025, BSR employs approximately 6,400 people, making it one of Berlin's largest employers. Its mandate covers the full municipal waste chain for all Berlin households, property owners, housing associations, and commercial customers: collection of residual, organic, recyclable, paper, glass, electrical, textile, hazardous, bulky, and garden waste; street and green-space cleaning; winter service; and operation of an integrated recycling center network across the city.

BSR's underlying technology stack centers on large-scale physical infrastructure rather than software. The Müllheizkraftwerk (MHKW) Ruhleben, in operation since 1967 and considered one of Europe's most modern thermal waste-treatment plants, runs five incineration lines processing over 500,000 tonnes of Berlin residual waste annually into high-pressure steam that generates electricity and feeds district heating to approximately 5% of Berlin households. BSR also operates landfill gas capture at five closed municipal sites (Schwanebeck, Wernsdorf, Schöneicher Plan, Marienfelde, Wannsee) with BHKW blocks, plus a biological Methanoxydationsfeld at Egelpfuhl, biogas and composting plants, bulky waste processing, and mechanical biological treatment facilities. It manages 38 former landfill sites under the Federal Soil Protection Act and has reduced its own annual CO2 emissions by approximately 300,000 tonnes since 2007 through fleet conversion, landfill gas recovery, and building efficiency, targeting climate neutrality by 2045. Digital surface includes the BSR website, mobile app, customer portal, and a Cognigy-powered AI chatbot for customer service.

BSR's revenue model is a regulated municipal fee structure. It generates recurring annual subscription revenue through waste collection and street cleaning fees (Gebühren) charged to property owners based on property size and service level, plus transactional/usage-based revenue from self-delivery disposal at MHKW Ruhleben (e.g., 180 EUR per 1,000 kg in 2025/2026), bulky waste (Sperrmüll) booking, and commercial waste contracts. Customer segments span Berlin residential households (primary), the Wohnungswirtschaft housing industry (primary), commercial/enterprise customers (Gewerbekunden), and educational institutions. BSR markets through a digital-first channel mix — website, iOS/Android app, Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mastodon — complemented by community programs (Kehrenbürger, Zero Waste Award, Zero Waste Future Festival) and environmental education. Distribution is direct-to-consumer and direct-to-enterprise via the service center, recycling centers, digital self-service portals, and scheduled collection routes. BSR co-signed the Klimapakt 2025–2030 with the Berlin Senate and 22 other state-owned enterprises on 27 January 2026, securing multi-year public co-financing for climate infrastructure.

Name

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe

Legal name

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe

Website

https://bsr.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR) is the State of Berlin's wholly state-owned municipal waste management, recycling, and street cleaning utility, serving all Berlin households, property owners, housing associations, and commercial customers with regulated collection fees, a waste-to-energy plant, and 38 managed landfill sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Waste Management Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (5621), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Solid Waste Landfill (562212), Waste Treatment and Disposal (56221)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Solid Waste Collection (Residential/Commercial) (IMAIAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill Disposal (BPALACAA), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Transfer Stations (BPALABAA), Commercial & Institutional MSW Collection (BPALAAAB), Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection & Transfer (BPALABAF)

Keywords

• Municipal waste management
• Waste collection services
• Street cleaning services
• Waste-to-energy
• Recycling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Waste Collection and Disposal Fees: BSR generates revenue primarily through municipal waste collection fees, street cleaning fees, and disposal fees charged to Berlin households, property owners, and commercial customers. As a state-owned enterprise of Berlin, revenue is used to fund operations, infrastructure, and environmental programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

BSR is Berlin's municipal waste management utility providing residential and commercial waste collection, recycling center operations, street and winter cleaning, bulky waste disposal, and the operation of the MHKW Ruhleben waste-to-energy plant. It also runs biogas and composting facilities, mechanical-biological treatment plants, and manages 38 former landfill sites under the Federal Soil Protection Act, while offering digital tools such as the BSR App and Mein BSR online portal for customer service.

Product overview

Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR) operates as Berlin's primary municipal waste management utility, offering a comprehensive portfolio of waste collection, recycling, and street cleaning services. The company runs multiple infrastructure facilities including the Müllheizkraftwerk Ruhleben waste-to-energy plant, biogas and composting facilities, bulky waste processing plants, and manages remediation of former landfill sites. BSR provides digital services through its website and mobile app, including collection calendars, waste calculators, and customer portals. The company also promotes circular economy initiatives through second-hand marketplaces (NochMall), repair networks (repami), and exchange platforms, while maintaining environmental education programs and community participation initiatives like Kehrenbürger. An AI-powered chatbot (Cognigy) handles customer inquiries via the website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BSR-App: Mobile application for waste collection schedules, recycling information, and bulky waste booking services.
• NochMall
• repami
• Trenntalent
• Trenntstadt Berlin
• Zero Waste Award
• Kehrenbürger
• Papierkorb-Roboter Reiner
• Müllheizkraftwerk Ruhleben
• JUST orange

Products and services

• Residential and commercial waste collection (Abfallentsorgung)
• Street cleaning (Straßenreinigung)
• Winter service (Winterdienst)
• Recycling centers (Recyclinghöfe)
• Bulky waste collection (Sperrmüllabfuhr)
• Müllheizkraftwerk Ruhleben (waste-to-energy plant)
• Biogas plant (Biogasanlage)
• Composting plant (Kompostieranlage)

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ tonnes of Berlin residual waste processed annually at MHKW Ruhleben, supplying energy to ~5% of Berlin households
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Senatskanzlei Berlin (Berlin Senate) and 22 other state-owned enterprisescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026BSR co-signed the Klimapakt 2025–2030 (Climate Pact) with the Berlin Senate and 22 other state-owned enterprises, reaffirming shared commitment to climate neutrality by 2045 with reliable financing. BSR was the first state-owned company to sign a climate protection agreement in 2007.
• Bezirksamt Tempelhof-SchönebergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSR has been a cooperation partner of the Bezirk Tempelhof-Schöneberg for the Green Buddy Award (Umweltpreis) for 11 consecutive years, sponsoring the Abfallvermeidung/Reduce, Reuse and Recycle category.
• vbw (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie) - referenced via BMWi funding logominorOthersBSR participates in programs supported by federal economic development funds (BMWi/now BMWK) referencing vbw standards for vocational training initiatives.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stadtreinigung Hamburg (SRH): Hamburg's municipal waste management, street cleaning, and waste-to-energy utility. Operates the same municipal-utility business model as BSR, including the BHKW Rugenberger Damm and Müllverwertung Borsigstraße WTE plants, fleet services, and recycling centers, making it the closest structural peer to BSR within Germany.
• Stadtreinigung Dresden: Dresden's municipal waste management utility, providing residential and commercial waste collection, recycling, and street cleaning services to the city of Dresden. Same municipal-mandate structure as BSR, scaled to a smaller German city.
• Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service GmbH (FES): Frankfurt's municipal waste and street cleaning company, wholly owned by the City of Frankfurt am Main. Operates the same integrated waste-to-energy + collection + street cleaning model as BSR, with comparable service breadth within a single major German city.
• Kölner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (KSB): Cologne's municipal waste management and street cleaning utility, owned by the City of Cologne. Operates household and commercial waste collection, street cleaning, recycling centers, and waste-to-energy capacity directly comparable to BSR's service scope.
• Münchner Stadtreinigung (MSW): Munich's municipal waste management utility, owned by the City of Munich, providing household and commercial waste collection, street cleaning, winter service, and recycling operations. Same city-level municipal mandate as BSR, with comparable service portfolio and operating scale.

Regional players

• Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb des Landkreises Barnim: Regional waste management operator for the Barnim district bordering Berlin, where BSR manages landfill sites such as Schwanebeck. Operates collection and recycling services in Brandenburg and is a regional counterparty relevant to BSR's landfill aftercare and Brandenburg operations.

Broad incumbents

• REMONDIS: One of Germany's largest private waste and recycling companies, operating across collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal. Comparable service breadth to BSR but as a multi-region private incumbent rather than a single-city municipal utility.
• ALBA Group: Berlin-headquartered private waste and recycling group with collection, sorting, and materials-recovery operations across Germany. Geographically anchored in Berlin like BSR and competes for commercial waste contracts in the same market.
• PreZero (Schwarz Group / SUEZ Deutschland): Major private waste and recycling group operating across Germany and Europe, formed from SUEZ Deutschland and integrated with the Schwarz Group retail ecosystem. Comparable end-to-end waste management capabilities to BSR but at national/European scale and as a private operator.

Others

• Berliner Energie und Wärme GmbH (BEW): Berlin's municipal energy and heat utility, successor to Vattenfall Wärme Berlin's district heating operations. Receives waste-derived heat from MHKW Ruhleben and is the strategic district-heating offtake partner for BSR's waste-to-energy output.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bsr_de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BSRBerlin
• Facebookfacebook.com/BerlinerStadtreinigung
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/berliner-stadtreinigung
• Instagraminstagram.com/bsr_berlinerstadtreinigung

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe