Our parent company, Continental, has enjoyed a successful partnership with Stadtreinigung Hamburg (SRH) in Germany for over twelve years. SRH is responsible for cleaning services across the northern German city, serving nearly two million residents. The company has entrusted Continental with complete tyre management, including repair and service, for its fleet of 1,100 vehicles operating across seven locations in Hamburg. This modern fleet is equipped with the Wastemaster—our specially designed tyre tailored to meet the specific demands of waste disposal operations.
“Our innovative, state-of-the-art fleet needs an innovative, state-of-the-art tyre to match, and that is without doubt the new Wastemaster 5,” says Oliver Braune for the fleet of Stadtreinigung Hamburg.
The ContiLifeCycle concept: tyres and services from a single source
The Wastemaster 5 has been specifically engineered to meet the rigorous demands of kerbside waste collection. Designed for durability and dependable performance, it delivers exceptional grip and handling—even in challenging environments such as recycling centres and narrow urban streets.
With a robust build and year-round reliability, the Wastemaster 5 excels in navigating tight turning radii, sharp curbs, and adverse weather conditions, ensuring consistent performance when it matters most.
“With the Bandvulc Wastemaster and comprehensive tyre service as part of our ContiLifeCycle concept, we are helping waste disposal companies to cut costs and lower their emissions – and thereby work towards company goals, such as circular economy, high recycling rates, conservation of resources and maximised sustainability,” explains Jan-Ole van Lengen, Head of ContiLifeCycle Germany at Continental.
Situated on the Elbe River, the city of Hamburg is home to 1.9 million residents (Statista, 2023) living in approximately one million households (Statista, 2024), alongside numerous businesses, public authorities, and municipal facilities. Each year, the city generates 797,684 metric tons of residential waste and 629,575 metric tons of commercial municipal waste (Hamburg Authority for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture, 2023). Stadtreinigung Hamburg is tasked with collecting and disposing of a significant portion of this waste—a demanding job for both personnel and equipment.
“Our 280 vehicles navigate the narrowest of streets, where tyres are pushed to their limits,” says Oliver Braune. “They need to operate year-round, make extremely tight turns, and endure frequent contact with curbs.”
Wastemaster, engineered for endurance no matter the conditions.
Each Wastemaster tyre remains in service on Stadtreinigung Hamburg’s vehicles for an average of four years—enduring countless sharp curbs, shards of glass, and miles of cobblestone streets along the way. “The Wastemaster 5 is a major asset for us,” says Oliver Braune. “It’s a top-tier tyre. With its Armorband sidewall protection and reinforced construction, it’s become an essential part of our daily operations.”
Our Wastemaster 5 is engineered to withstand harsh conditions. Its durable sidewall technology and solid shoulders provide robust protection against curb damage and impact wear. Additionally, the tyre features excellent stone ejection properties and carries the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) symbol—signifying reliable traction, strong grip, and stable handling, even in winter weather.
Sustainability in the spotlight
Continental is supporting Stadtreinigung Hamburg in achieving its strategic sustainability goals through the use of Wastemaster 5 retread tyres and the ContiLifeCycle concept. “Retreading is very important to us because we want to operate in a resource-efficient way, and it’s something we are truly committed to,” says Oliver Braune. “By using retreaded tyres, we’re able to reuse up to 80 percent of the material from our own casings.”
Sustainability is deeply embedded in Stadtreinigung Hamburg’s core operations. “Our work is guided not only by economic principles, but also by social and, above all, ecological values,” explains Anne-Maria Jeske from the company’s press office. “In line with the waste hierarchy, our top priority is to prevent waste and conserve raw materials. That’s why we’re committed to sustainability across many areas. A key goal for us is to achieve climate neutrality by 2035. Our vehicle fleet plays a crucial role in this effort, which is why we’re systematically transitioning to alternative drive systems. By 2025, every new vehicle purchased by SRH will feature a low-energy, alternative drivetrain.”
The core themes of the company’s strategy—circular economy, sustainable procurement, climate action, and resource conservation—align closely with Continental’s Vision 2050. Initiatives like the ContiLifeCycle program and the Wastemaster specialty tyre contribute meaningfully to these shared objectives.
A long standing partnership
Both parties benefit from this long-standing, trust-based partnership. Stadtreinigung Hamburg can rely on Continental’s comprehensive tyre management solutions, allowing it to focus fully on its core operations. At the same time, Continental’s tyre developers gain valuable insights from the Hamburg company’s real-world experience with the Wastemaster, enabling them to further refine and adapt this specialised tyre to the demanding conditions faced by waste disposal fleets.
“Our modern vehicle fleet needs to perform at its best for the sake of our employees,” concludes Oliver Braune. “State-of-the-art tyres are essential to achieving that—alongside advanced tyre management and reliable partners like service provider Vergölst and Continental.”
Here are our Wastemaster tyres in action! Find out more on the full WM5 product range here