Guide to separating trash in Germany
Colorful bins in their backyards are there to collect different types of trash: Germans are said to take their waste separation very seriously. Here's what you need to know about it.
Spot the errors in this green glass bin
Glass is separated into three different bins: white, brown and green. Blue or yellow bottles can go with green. However, broken drinking glasses or windows should not be thrown in the bottle and jar containers. They're made of a different type of glass that disrupts the recycling process. Jar lids belong in a separate bin. Residential glass containers are only available in some parts of Germany.
Public containers
If you don't have glass bins at home, or if they're just not big enough after your last big party, you can also use one of these public containers. Here - just like for residential glass containers - you are expected to avoid the noisy task during "Ruhezeiten," or quiet times, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and after 8:00 pm on weekdays, as well as on Sundays and public holidays.
Bringing back bottles
Bottles with a deposit shouldn't go into those glass containers. Instead "Pfandflaschen" can be brought back to the store for a refund. Most supermarkets have automatic bottle return machines that gobble up the bottles, calculate your refund - usually eight cents per glass bottle and 25 cents for plastic. Since many Germans drink sparkling water, returning bottles can be a weekly chore.
Another option for deposit bottles
In urban areas, those who don't bring their bottles back to the store can simply leave them near a public trash bin. It might seem messy, but it actually helps those who go around collecting bottles for money. Collectors can simply pick them up instead of having to dig through the trash. This clever ring around a public trash can in Karlsruhe makes the informal system more effective.
Blue is for paper
All Germans know that the blue bins are for paper and cardboard, but many don't realize that pizza boxes and paper plates for fries don't belong in there. Food leftovers create problems in the recycling process. Glossy paper, such as posters, cannot be recycled with normal paper either. Recycling paper is an old tradition in Germany: It was invented by a lawyer named Justus Claproth in 1774.
Brown or green for biodegradable waste
Those who are used to the strict restrictions of garden compost will be surprised to find out that they do not apply to the brown or green bins collecting food leftovers in larger cities. Leftovers of cooked or uncooked food, citrus and dairy products, meat and fish can all go into the bin for "Biomüll," or biodegradable waste. It is then processed in a fermentation plant.
Yellow is for packaging of all sorts
A wide variety of packaging products belong in the yellow bin, such as aluminum, plastic, polystyrene, tin cans, and Tetra Paks. Although cartons should be empty to avoid leaking all over, traces of food are allowed in this bin: The best materials are picked out for recycling and the rest is burned to produce energy.
Sometimes it's a yellow bag
In some areas, instead of the bins, yellow plastic bags are used to collect various types packaging. They are known as the famous "Gelber Sack." These bags are to be placed outside on the scheduled days planned by the community for collection.
Black is for the rest
The black or grey bin is for "Restmüll" - whatever is left that shouldn't go in the previous bins, from diapers to cigarette butts or any other soiled item. Yet even this category can be reduced. More specifically, hazardous waste, such as leftovers of paint, insecticides, corrosive products or fluorescent tubes and batteries need to be collected separately or brought to the dump.
Hazardous waste
Many supermarkets collect used batteries. Each town has its own collecting system for other hazardous waste, sometimes with scheduled dates where a truck picks everything up, or specific locations where this waste can be dropped off. The reason why these items should not be thrown away with the normal trash is that it is incinerated, and these items would emit poisonous gases when burned.
Bulky waste
Some items are too big for the trash can. There are special collecting points for what is known as "Sperrmüll" in Germany, where you can drop off that used sofa, old TV or leftover building materials. Other communities schedule pick-up days. Many Berliners just leave the items outside their house with a "zu verschenken" sign - "to give away" - hoping that neighbors will reuse their stuff.
Special bins for clothes
Used clothes and shoes do not need to land in the trash. Bins to collect them can be found throughout most cities. Charities resell the recycled clothes. Some people prefer to allow anyone to have a first pick, by leaving their used clothes beside the bin instead of inside it. The collection of shoes that landed in front of this one was somewhat exaggerated, though.
Do not overfill
When a bin is too full, garbage collectors may refuse to empty it - so adding more trash on top of an already full container will not help. If you wonder why most houses keep their bins locked up, it's to avoid having neighbors dump their trash into them. It is possible to obtain a larger bin of a certain category, but you'll have to pay extra for the service.
More chaotic than you'd expect
Despite their reputation for taking trash separation very seriously, not all Germans are tidy waste collectors. An early Monday stroll through a park where people are allowed to barbecue and party, such as the Mauerpark in Berlin (pictured), demonstrates that the situation can still be improved. Now that you know all the rules, you can outdo Germans and become the next trash nerd.