firecracker

Whether domestic, wild or farm animals - for them, the loud, crashing bangs and bright flashes come completely out of nowhere and mean pure stress. Dogs and cats, like many other animals, have particularly sensitive hearing. New Year's Eve can even be traumatic for them! Pet owners fear for their faithful companions every year, and sometimes tranquillisers have to be used. Fleeing animals such as cows and horses run through fences out of panic - This is an extreme danger on the roads for animals and humans. Injuries also occur in stables: Chickens in particular flee in panic into a corner, where they suffocate or trample each other to death. Wild animals are torn from their hibernation by the noise and flee. The resulting loss of energy can be life-threatening for them. Birds are particularly affected; the fright causes them to flee into the air and sometimes fly up to 1,000 metres high - a height they do not normally reach.

Fireworks can also cause stables to catch fire. In 2019 and 2020, there were a total of around 27 fires on livestock farms caused by New Year's Eve firecrackers and rockets.

(Text excerpt from Deutsche Umwelthilfe)

Particulate matter is an air pollutant with a massive impact on human health. There is no safety limit, so every measure must be taken to reduce exposure. The sharpest increase of all particle sizes in the year is measured on New Year's Eve - This also applies to ultrafine particles, which are particularly harmful to health. The pollution on New Year's Day is particularly serious: in many places, it is polluted with hourly values of over 1000 µg/m³, while the average pollution in 2018 at urban measuring stations in Germany was around 18 µg/m³. According to recommendations by the World Health Organisation, a limit value of 45 µg/m³ should be exceeded on a maximum of three days per year. This can already be reached from 1 to 3 January due to pollution from New Year's Eve fireworks. 

In 2020, particulate matter levels on New Year's Eve were significantly lower than in the previous year thanks to the ban on the sale of fireworks. In Hamburg and Munich, the pollution levels measured fell by as much as 70 per cent. At the turn of the year 2021/2022, particulate matter levels even fell by more than 90 per cent in some places compared to New Year's Eve without a sales ban. These figures speak for themselves: a ban is effective and greatly reduces health risks.

Emergency departments are regularly overcrowded on New Year's Eve - emergency services work to the limit year after year. Incorrect, negligent and drunk handling of firecrackers and rockets can lead to serious injuries, and children are often the victims. Injuries to the eyes and ears in particular become more frequent on New Year's Eve and can cause serious permanent damage. Police officers, firefighters and emergency service personnel are increasingly on duty and have to forego a private celebration year after year. The risk of fire increases dramatically on New Year's Eve: According to the Tagesspiegel, there were 400 fires on New Year's Eve 2019 in Berlin alone. The increasing drought is also increasing the risk of forest fires. 

The ban on the sale of fireworks has drastically reduced these dangers in recent years. In Hamburg on New Year's Eve 2020, there were only around a third of the emergency operations from the previous year, while in Berlin the number fell from 1523 to 862 operations. The positive effects of the ban are therefore clear to see: the number of injuries fell significantly, as the police and media report unanimously.

(Text excerpt from Deutsche Umwelthilfe)

Fireworks and firecrackers on New Year's Eve leave behind huge amounts of waste. Over 43,000 tonnes of fireworks were sold at the turn of the year 2019 alone (source: UBA). In the five largest German cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main) municipal companies disposed of around 191 tonnes of New Year's Eve waste at the turn of the year 2017 (Source: VKU). 

However, this is only part of the waste that is actually produced. A large proportion ends up on green spaces and in bodies of water, where it can hardly be collected. This is highly problematic, as the fireworks contain contain many harmful substances which then end up in our soil, water cycles and ultimately our food cycles. These include the plastic PVC, which releases highly toxic dioxins when incinerated. Heavy metals such as copper and barium are also still used as standard, and residues from fireworks poison the soil as microplastics and chemicals for a long time.

(Text excerpt from Deutsche Umwelthilfe)