Halle 2

Halle 2 is a municipal second-hand store run by Munich's waste management corporation AWM, selling goods collected across the city's 12 recycling centres and repaired, extending the life of items that would otherwise become waste. It is a flagship of Munich's waste-prevention strategy and the 2020 'Circular Munich' council resolution; renovation and marketing were financed with a €1 million budget from the household waste fee.

Its stated objectives are to increase the volume of materials collected from Munich residents to reduce total waste generated, make good-condition second-hand goods easier for residents to access, create more opportunities for repairing broken items so they keep their value within the economy, and establish new lending and trading opportunities that help both Halle 2 and local enterprises grow.

Halle 2 operates from a former shoe shop staffed by AWM employees, with volunteers and local groups organising repair cafés and expert workshops; it receives donations from the community and also offers a collection service for repairable items.

Halle 2 prevents an estimated 1,000 tonnes of waste per year, draws around 270 shop visitors a day, and has created 10 new jobs for local residents; monthly income rose from €51,877 in 2016 to €56,756 in 2019, and new targets are €90,000 in monthly sales and 24,000 items sold per month. It has agreements with 11 cooperation partners and won the Eurocities Cooperation Award. More broadly, Munich recycled 54% of collected household waste in 2018 (above the EU's 50% target for 2020), and the city's population grew from 1.2 million to 1.5 million since 2000 without a proportional rise in waste volume, which AWM cites as evidence the wider waste-management policy is working.

Zero Waste Europe highlights Halle 2's partnerships with non-profits and local companies, which help unemployed people gain qualifications and job prospects, and its role as a 'reuse-lab' testbed for new circular-economy approaches developed with local businesses. Its resilience is attributed to being more than a shop — a systemic partnership with Munich's community, including repair cafés, upcycling workshops and cultural events that double as training and civic-engagement opportunities.