Bottle deposit (Pfand) machines
In Germany, many types of drink bottles and cans are part of a return scheme. When you buy one of these bottles or cans, you pay a deposit (Pfand) for the container. When you return the empty container, you get your deposit back.
Pfand containers should therefore be returned rather than put in the plastic, glass or gelbe Tonne recycling.
There are two types of bottles in the Pfand system in Germany:
- Multiple-use (Mehrweg) containers made from glass or plastic, which have a producer-set Pfand price between 8 and 25 cents.
- Single-use (Einweg) containers, which have a government-set Pfand price of 25 cents.
How do I tell if a bottle has a deposit?
Typically, these types of bottles have a deposit:
- Beer bottles
- Aluminium cans
- Plastic bottles for milk and milk-based drinks, fizzy drinks, juice and mineral water
- Glass bottles for fizzy drinks, juice and mineral water (but usually not wine bottles)
- Beer crates
A Pfand bottle will bear a logo, but confusingly there is not one set logo for Germany. You may see the term “Mehrweg” inside a blue circle, “Der Blaue Engel” on a blue stamp, “PETCYCLE” inside a black circle, or a graphic with a can and a bottle and an arrow. Look for the terms “Mehrweg”, “Pfand-Glas” or “Mehrwegflasche”.
“Pfandfrei” or “Ohne Pfand” means that the bottle does not have a Pfand, so should go in the glass recycling or gelbe Tonne.
How to return your Pfand bottles
You can return your Pfand bottles:
- At supermarkets in a bottle return machine (Pfandautomat)
- To a liquor store
- To a convenience store (Späti)
If a business sells Pfand containers, it must accept Pfand returns. However, businesses are able to refuse containers that they don’t sell. For instance, Lidl and Aldi in Germany only sell single-use containers, so they don’t accept multiple-use bottles.
That being said, large stores that are bigger than 200 square metres must accept all kinds of Pfand containers, not just the brands they sell. If you’re looking to return all of your Pfand bottles in one go, therefore, it is wise to head to a large supermarket.
If you are out and about and need to throw away a bottle or can with Pfand but don't want to go to the supermarket, it is commonplace to leave your Pfand beside, rather than inside, a municipal bin for someone else to collect. According to the campaign Pfand gehört daneben, 180 million euros worth of Pfand containers are incorrectly thrown in general waste bins each year in Germany.
How to use a Pfand machine (Pfandautomat)
The easiest way to return your Pfand bottles is to use a Pfand machine in a supermarket. These machines are usually located near the entrance, or at the back of the store. Pop your bottles in one at a time and the machine will scan the barcode.
If it’s accepted, the bottle will be pulled through to the back of the machine and the Pfand amount will show on the display screen. If it’s not accepted, the machine will eject the bottle, and you’ll have to try to return it somewhere else; corner shops often accept more unusual Pfand bottles and cans.
Do the same with all of your bottles, and when you’re finished, tap the button on the machine to confirm you’re finished. It will then print a receipt with the total value of your Pfand. You can take this directly to the till to cash in, or you can do your shopping and then have the Pfand deducted from your total.
What happens to my bottles after I return them?
What happens to your Pfand bottles after they are returned depends on whether it was a single-use or multiple-use item.
Multiple-use items are returned to large processing centres, where they are cleaned and then sent back to manufacturers to be refilled and sold again. Glass bottles can be cleaned and refilled up to 50 times, while plastic bottles can be reused 25 times.
Single-use items are sent to a recycling plant where they’re shredded and turned into pellets to make new plastic bottles, textiles or other plastic items. Some Pfand machines in Germany now do this shredding right before your eyes.
Recycling containers
Some items need to be taken to special recycling containers or collection points to be recycled; this includes:
- Glass bottles (if your home doesn’t have glass recycling bins)
- Clothes
- Batteries
- Lightbulbs
- Electronics
Glass recycling in Germany
If your building doesn’t have glass recycling bins, you’ll need to take them to your local glass recycling point. You can use the Mülltrennung wirkt website to find your local point. The following items can go in the glass recycling bin:
- Drinks bottles
- Jars
- Flasks
- Perfume bottles
Again, glass is separated according to its colour: white, brown and green/red/blue. The glass bottles and jars should be empty, but you do not need to rinse them out. Make sure to remove the lids and caps first, and dispose of them in your yellow recycling bin.
You should not put the following items in glass recycling bins:
- Drinking glasses
- Glass cookware and dishes
- Mirrors
- Ashtrays
- Lamps
- Lightbulbs
- Window glass
Instead, small items can be thrown in the grey bin, or larger items can be taken to a recycling centre.
Note that your municipality may only allow glass disposal during certain times of the day - usually between 7am and 8pm - due to noise concerns.
Clothes donation bins
Most German cities will have a special clothing donation container where you can throw away unwanted yet usable clothes. You’ll often find these clothes donation bins by the glass recycling bins in your neighbourhood. Alternatively, the German Red Cross website has a tool for finding your local clothes donation bin.
Battery & lightbulb recycling bins
Batteries and lightbulbs cannot go in the grey bin, but you can recycle them in most supermarkets, drugstores, electronics stores and hardware stores. Look for a battery and lightbulb recycling bin (Altbatterien or Batterien und Akkus and/or Leuchtmittel), usually close to the front entrance.
Car batteries have a 7,50-euro Pfand applied to them, which you can get back if you have the receipt and recycle them at ATU or a recycling centre.
Electronics recycling points
Electronic items should not go into the grey bin but instead be recycled. As of 2022, Germany has a legal requirement for large electronics stores and supermarkets to accept old electronics and recycle them, even if you are not buying a new item. This only applies to small electronics (with one side length up to 25 centimetres) like kettles, toasters, curling irons, and similar.
For large appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators, stores that sell these kinds of appliances are obliged to recycle them for free when you buy a new appliance.
Alternatively, you can take your old electronics to a recycling centre or arrange for them to be picked up (see below).
The same applies to printer ink and toner cartridges. These should not go in your yellow bin but be recycled like electronics.
Recycling centres in Germany
Finally, you can also take most kinds of items to a recycling centre (Recyclinghof or Wertstoffhof) to dispose of them. The recycling centre takes your waste and transfers it to the relevant disposal company.
You can recycle most kinds of items at recycling centres in Germany, including:
- Construction materials
- Bulky garden waste
- Furniture
- Electronics
- Appliances
- Carpets
- Mattresses
- Energy-saving lightbulbs
- Old textiles that cannot be donated
- Batteries
- Lightbulbs
- Paints and varnishes
- Car oil
- Car tyres
Note that recycling centres do not accept commercial waste; they are intended for private households and not businesses.
Depending on what you are disposing of, a small fee may be payable. You may also need to provide proof that you live in the local area in order to use the recycling centre. It’s a good idea to bring proof of address, such as a registration certificate.
Arranging a collection for bulky waste (Sperrmüll)
If you are unable to make it to a recycling centre (for instance if you don’t drive) and you have a large or bulky item (Sperrmüll) to dispose of, you can contact your local waste disposal service to arrange for the item to be collected, often for a fee.
They will let you know the date that they will pick up the item, and ask you to leave it in the street to be collected. Usually, other people in your neighbourhood will also be leaving their bulky items out to collect at the same time.
Note that you should always contact the waste disposal service to collect your item before putting it out on the street. Incorrectly disposing of your Sperrmüll (flytipping) can land you with a fine of up to 2.500 euros.
Waste disposal fees (Müllgebühren)
In Germany, you pay a fee to have your waste and recycling collected from your home by a dedicated waste disposal company. Waste collections typically take place once every week or two weeks; your local waste disposal company will advise you of what your collection day is by sending you a printed waste management calendar (Abfallkalendar or Abfuhrkalendar) at the beginning of the year, showing which bins will be collected on which days.
Your waste disposal fee varies depending on where you live, the amount of waste you produce (determined by the size of bin you have and how often it is collected), and the type of waste being collected. For instance, some municipalities only charge for the grey bin (Restmüll) collection, and make the recycling bin collection free.
Depending on the company that manages your waste, you may be able to reduce your waste disposal fees by changing your collection from weekly to biweekly, for instance, if you are regularly not filling up your bin. You could also switch to a smaller bin size. If you are producing too much rubbish to fit in your bin, you can increase the regularity of your collections or order a larger bin size, but this will increase your waste disposal fees.
If you own your home, you will pay these fees directly to the waste disposal company. You will usually be billed annually and can pay via direct debit. If you are a tenant, the waste disposal fee is usually included in your additional costs (Nebenkosten), but check your rental contract or with your landlord to be sure.