You may have heard Germany has rules. There are also many rules about trash.
It’s not super fair to exaggerate and say “of COURSE Germany has so many rules about trash, there’s rules about everything else” because pretty much every region has rules about trash. Otherwise, we’d live in not great places to sustain life. It just seems like Germany’s rules are overly specific.
What Do.
My confession for today: I don’t really get the sorting right all the time. Also a confession for today: I hate, hate sorting out Bioabfall. I don’t really see a good way to do it.
In the old flat, we didn’t exactly have all the required cans for trash BUT that was also something we couldn’t control – they come from the Hausmeister or Vermieter.
Now that we’ve moved to a single family home we have all the cans we could want. And even then, it’s surprising how little they are, considering we share them with our landlord and their other tenants that are street-side of our courtyard.
Because we have more cans, we have more responsibility to absolutely make sure we’re doing things correctly. And the timing of this post comes because recently, we did not recycle correctly. And we were informed.
Even though I thought I had it down, I do not have trash sorting down exactly so my research is here on display for you, so you can avoid angry or passive aggressive notes (or even the trash itself) on your door!
How Do I Say...?
Basic vocabulary for Trash & Recycling.
Trash – Mülletonne
Trash – Abfall
Trash Bag – Müllsack
Bottles – Flaschen
Paper – Papier
Cardboard box – Karton
Most trash and recycling vocabulary is similar to English.
Why So Many Bins?
Efficiency. If the consumer sorts the trash at the place of waste creation, then less time is needed to pay employees to sort at the waste facility.
I made that up and have no evidence to support it, but sounds about right.
On the other hand, I know trash and recycling sorting can be done automatically at some facilities so perhaps this will be one of those traditions Germany doesn’t want to let go of.
Whatever the reason, it’s important to know the rules and color coding. Not only is it important to keep the waste removal system running smoothly, but you could also face fines from the city for not sorting properly. However you want to define the end result is up to you, but sorting properly is your responsibility.
The System
The System is not to be messed with. Otherwise, your badly sorted trash will end up on your doorstep (has happened to me twice) or notes will be attached to the trash and left next to the bins, to shame the person who then has to put the trash into the correct bin (has happened…more than twice).
It is now time to move on to the more advanced level: the yellow Bins and the Green Dot. Cans, plastic, polystyrene, aluminum, tinplate and “composite” materials like beverage cartons made of a mixture of materials belong in the yellow bin or should be put in the yellow bags. Empty spray cans are also allowed here. You are not supposed to put stuff inside each other, like the yogurt cup inside the baked beans tin. And lastly, spare a thought for the end process: this stuff gets sorted by hand. A kind request has been made to rinse the cans and cups before throwing them in the bin. No need to scrub, just a light rinse.
Does it have a Green Dot?
If it has a Green Dot, put it in the yellow bin.
Paper is also entry-level recycling: all packaging made of paper and cardboard, newspapers, magazines, waste paper, paper bags, etc, etc. (you’ve got the idea?) belong in the blue bins. Tissues, however, do not belong here. Read on to find their place in the scheme of things. If you don’t have a blue bin at your home, you will certainly find one somewhere in your neighborhood. You are supposed to flatten boxes before putting them in the bin, and make sure you throw only the box and not the plastic wrappers inside the box, in the bin.
If you are not fortunate enough to have a separate brown bin and don’t feel like making your own compost heap, you are allowed to throw the bio stuff in your household waste bin, the gray one. This bin is also the destiny of, finally, “almost the rest”. This includes ash, cigarette butts, old household objects like hairbrushes and frying pans, textiles and nylon stockings, nappies/diapers, tissues, other personal hygiene items, extremely dirty paper, etc. Everything in the gray bins will be incinerated.
Bio stuff is anything destined for the compost heap in a good gardener’s back yard. This includes kitchen scraps, peels, leftover food, coffee filters, tea bags and garden waste. If you live in a house, you probably will have a separate brown bin for this. The end result of bio recycling is either energy through the natural fermenting gasses, which is captured and utilized, or garden compost. So this is good stuff to recycle, albeit a bit smelly at times. The brown bins do, however, get emptied very regularly during the summer months. Nevertheless, keep the bin far from your kitchen window!
If you are not fortunate enough to have a separate brown bin and don’t feel like making your own compost heap, you are allowed to throw the bio stuff in your household waste bin, the gray one.
Glass
Let’s start with the easy stuff: glass. Any kind of bottle or glass jar that is non-returnable and on which you did not pay a deposit or “Pfand“, belongs in the designated glass bins. This includes wine bottles, jam/preserve jars, oil bottles, juice bottles and even bath-salt bottles. Ceramics, china, mirrors and wine corks do not belong in the glass bins. Glass is sorted by color. There are different slots for depositing green, brown and clear glass. You will find these bins dotted over every neighborhood. The only thing to take note of here is the times when you should not recycle. Remember Quiet Time? That is not the time to recycle your bottles or you will have a couple of very irate neighbors on your hands.
Does it have a deposit?
Some bottles and cans have a deposit (Pfand). Return them at the grocery store to get 8 to 25 cents per bottle.
OR leave bottles at the base of public trashcans, like those found at bus stops, for others to pick up.
Hazardous Waste
That is the hazardous waste, which includes fluorescent tubes, batteries and acids, cans of paint still containing paint, thinners, adhesives, corrosives, disinfectants, insecticides, and so forth, has to be treated as hazardous waste. You will receive a notice from your local town council on when and where the truck collecting this kind of waste, will be. You need to bring your stuff to the site for them to dispose of it in the proper manner. If this waste ends up in the gray bin, it will be burnt with the rest of the “gray” waste, which could result in extremely poisonous gasses.
Batteries are disposed of separately. Look out for a small bin (it looks like a small garbage bin) at your local shopping area. You can deposit your used batteries here for proper disposal.
Electronics, batteries, light bulbs
Used electronics, batteries, neon lights and energy-saving bulbs don’t go in the trash1. Return them in special locations so they can be properly recycled. These places can recycle your old electronics:
- Deutsche Post – You print out a label and ship your used batteries and electronics for free
- MediaMarkt – Returns are possible in every branch
- Saturn – Returns are possible in every branch
- Hornbach – Returns are possible in every branch
- BSR – 15 recycling points in Berlin
- DM, Aldi and REWE – Battery recycling bins near the cash registers in some branches
Bigger things
If you are still left with something you would like to throw away (heaven forbid!) and do not think that it belongs on the “Trödelmarkt“/fleamarket, you have the opportunity at certain announced times to place your stuff outside when Sonstige– or Sperrmüll (miscellaneous items) will be gathered. This could include a sofa, broken hi-fi, chairs, building materials, etc. The funny thing is that not much of this stuff ends up on the garbage dump since many second hand dealers or “collectors” drive round the neighborhood to inspect the thrown out stuff. The majority of it gets loaded into private vans long before the municipal vans come around!
Another useful feature of the waste disposal system in most cities is the Recyclinghof, an outlying area to which you can transport your trash and Spermüll with your car. They are equipped with containers for the deposit of such things as furniture, batteries, electrical and electronic items, paper, plastic, cans, glass, wood and garden waste, The personnel there can guide you to the proper bin.
When and Where does it all go?
Depending on where you live, there’s a schedule for when the collectors come and take it to the Mülldeponie (dump). Generally, each bin is taken away every 14 days on a staggered schedule. Wiesbaden’s Abfallkalendar (trash pickup calendar) is here.
It's not trash, but I don't want it.
Did you too watch all of Tidying Up this January and nothing in your house sparks joy for you anymore?
Search for “entsorgung” on eBay Kleinanzeigen to find people who want your appliances, clothes, decorations and other household goods. And then, in the circle of life, you too can pick up new old things too!
Christmas Trees
Christmas tree pickup happens around January 6th – 20th, again depending on your address. Trees go out on the sidewalk with all the pretty things removed. Your removal date can be found on the trash calendar linked above.
Have you run into any landlord, neighbor or Hausmeister trash issues? I’d love to hear about them!