{"id":12591,"date":"2021-02-11T12:14:05","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T12:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12591"},"modified":"2021-02-11T12:14:05","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T12:14:05","slug":"how-to-dispose-of-your-waste-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/how-to-dispose-of-your-waste-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Dispose Of Your Waste in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2014, I wrote about M\u00fclltrennung<\/em> (trash separation)<\/a> in Germany, but here’s an update on that post with some more information.\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung\u00a0<\/em>can be pretty confusing in Germany, as each\u00a0Kommune\u00a0<\/em>(municipality) manages their own\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung <\/em>for Hausm\u00fcll <\/em>(domestic waste). This means that in one place, you may have a\u00a0Tonne\u00a0<\/em>(bin) for everything, and in other towns you may only have one or two\u00a0Tonnen<\/em>. Here’s an explanation to disentangle some of the confusion.<\/p>\n

You can stay in your\u00a0Bademantel<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"M\u00fclltonnen<\/a>

Different MGB<\/em> in Germany – from left to right, Bioabf\u00e4lle<\/em>, Restm\u00fcll<\/em>, a Gelbe Tonne<\/em>, and Altpapier<\/em>. (Image by 3268zauber at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Let’s first discuss the waste you can dispose of in your\u00a0Bademantel\u00a0<\/em>(bathrobe). You don’t have to leave your property for this stuff.<\/p>\n

Across Germany, you will find that your M\u00fclltonne\u00a0<\/em>(trash bin) comes as a large plastic container, the so-called\u00a0M\u00fcllgro\u00dfbeh\u00e4lter (MGB)\u00a0<\/em>(Large Trash Container). These big bins replaced the metal ones that were prevalent until around the turn of the Jahrtausend <\/em>(millenium). While they’re called Gro\u00dfbeh\u00e4lter<\/em>, they are smaller than the large ones in, say, the United States. However, a household usually has more than one of these, as each serves its own purpose. Germans usually call them\u00a0M\u00fclleimer\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0M\u00fclltonne<\/em>, not Gro\u00dfbeh\u00e4lter\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0MGB<\/em>, so that’s what I’ll do here too.<\/p>\n

Germany’s disposal system uses Farben <\/em>(colors) to separate between each kind of trash. In many Kommunen<\/em>, you can request the\u00a0Tonnen <\/em>at the Rathaus <\/em>(town hall). While the Gelbe Tonne <\/em>doesn’t cost anything, and rolls of the Gelbe Sack <\/em>can be picked up for free at the Rathaus <\/em>and often at Superm\u00e4rkte <\/em>(supermarkets), the other Tonnen <\/em>will cost you. While the Biotonne <\/em>and the Papiertonne\u00a0<\/em>don’t incur such high charges, the\u00a0Restm\u00fclltonne\u00a0<\/em>(residual waste bin) can get quite expensive, up to 450 euros a year! These costs are lower if they don’t have to be picked up as often or if you get a small one. So there’s also financial incentive to separate your\u00a0M\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here’s the four most common\u00a0Tonnen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Blue:\u00a0Altpapier\u00a0<\/em>(waste paper)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Blue is for\u00a0Altpapier <\/em><\/strong>(waste paper), so the blaue Tonne<\/em>, which is usually black with a blue lid, is for paper. This is for paper products, like\u00a0Karton\u00a0<\/em>(cardboard), Papier\u00a0<\/em>(paper), Zeitungen<\/em> (newspapers) and\u00a0Geschenkverpackung <\/em>(gift wrapping).\u00a0Any verschmutztes <\/em>(dirty) paper with food remains or paper that’s\u00a0beschichtet\u00a0<\/em>(laminated), like the cheese wrapper don’t belong in the blue one. This paper goes into the Restm\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>(residual waste). Not all of it, however. Coffee-to-go cups, for example, go into the\u00a0Gelbe Sack<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Yellow:\u00a0Verpackungsm\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>(package waste)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Yellow is a rather recent addition, having been introduced only in 1991. The\u00a0Gelbe Sack\u00a0<\/em>(Yellow Bag) or\u00a0Gelbe Tonne\u00a0<\/em>(Yellow Bin) are for Verpackungen\u00a0<\/em>(packaging) that are not made of Papier <\/em>or Glas <\/em>(glas).\u00a0So think Plastikverpackungen<\/strong> <\/em>(plastic packaging),\u00a0Konserven\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(cans) as well as so-called\u00a0Verbundverpackungen<\/strong> <\/em>(composite packaging), which is stuff like the Tetra-Paks, the\u00a0Milchpackung\u00a0<\/em>(milk carton), etcetera. Whatever is not packaging that is also not made of glass or paper goes into the\u00a0Restm\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Recently, some\u00a0Kommunen, <\/em>like Dortmund, have replaced this\u00a0Gelbe Sack\/Tonne\u00a0<\/em>with the\u00a0Wertstofftonne\u00a0<\/em>(recycling bin). This\u00a0Tonne\u00a0<\/em>is a\u00a0Gelbe Tonne\u00a0<\/em>2.0, basically. Besides everything you can put in a\u00a0Gelbe Sack\/Tonne<\/em>, you can use it for\u00a0stoffgleiche Nicht-Verpackungen\u00a0<\/em>(identical-material non-packaging). What this means is that the metal pan you had to drop into the\u00a0Restm\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>can now go into the\u00a0Wertstofftonne<\/em>, just like your plastic\u00a0Zahnb\u00fcrste<\/em> (tooth brush). So now, anything made of\u00a0Metall\u00a0<\/em>(metal),\u00a0Kunststoff\u00a0<\/em>(plastic) and\u00a0Verbundstoffe\u00a0<\/em>(composites) can go into the same bin. Some\u00a0Kommunen\u00a0<\/em>even allow\u00a0Altholz\u00a0<\/em>(wood waste) and\u00a0kleine Elektroger\u00e4te\u00a0<\/em>(small electric devices) into the\u00a0Wertstofftonne<\/em>. Pretty cool, right?<\/p>\n

In some\u00a0Kommunen<\/em>, there is neither a\u00a0Gelbe Tonne\/Sack\u00a0<\/em>nor a\u00a0Wertstofftonne<\/em>. In these\u00a0Kommunen<\/em>, you have to get dressed and go to the\u00a0Sammelstelle\u00a0<\/em>(collection point) to dispose of your\u00a0Verpackungsm\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Plastikflaschen\u00a0<\/em>(plastic bottles) and\u00a0Getr\u00e4nkedosen\u00a0<\/em>(beverage cans) often have\u00a0Pfand<\/em><\/strong>,<\/strong> also known as\u00a0Flaschenpfand\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0Dosenpfand\u00a0<\/em>(deposit-refund system<\/strong>). On more and more of these, you pay 25 cents as\u00a0Pfand\u00a0<\/em>(deposit) at purchase, which you get back when you return the\u00a0Flaschen\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Dosen\u00a0<\/em>at the market. So again, a big financial incentive to return this stuff and not toss it where it doesn’t belong.<\/p>\n

One last point: There’s this idea that the\u00a0Gr\u00fcne Punkt\u00a0<\/em>(Green Dot)<\/a> means anything with regard to waste separation. It doesn’t. When deciding where the package belongs, don’t look at this thing. It’s not mandatory anymore, either.<\/p>\n

Brown:\u00a0Bioabf\u00e4lle\u00a0<\/em>(biowaste)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Brown is for Bioabf\u00e4lle\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(biowaste), think your\u00a0K\u00fcchenabf\u00e4lle<\/em><\/strong>. This seems pretty straightforward, but there are some differences. Any compostable, organic waste goes here. Plants, kitchen waste, all that stuff. However, plastic bags are a big NO. Even the ones that say they are\u00a0biologisch abbaubar<\/em> (biodegradable). They don’t degrade fast enough, and at the composting plant, those bags are still seen as plastic bags that need to be removed. In some Kommunen<\/em>, Fleischreste\u00a0<\/em>(meat remains), Fischreste\u00a0<\/em>(fish remains) and\u00a0Frittierfett\u00a0<\/em>(frying oil) are not allowed in this Tonne<\/em>.\u00a0Asche\u00a0<\/em>(ash),\u00a0Staubsaugerbeutel\u00a0<\/em>(vacuum bags) and the like belong in the\u00a0Restm\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0brown\u00a0Tonne\u00a0<\/em>for\u00a0Bioabf\u00e4lle\u00a0<\/em>isn’t in use everywhere in Germany. In those where it isn’t, the Bioabf\u00e4lle\u00a0<\/em>go into the\u00a0Restm\u00fcll<\/em>. That’s also the case in my home town.<\/p>\n

Black:\u00a0Restm\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>(residual waste)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Finally, black is for Restm\u00fcll<\/em> (residual waste). Like you saw from the above, this covers the\u00a0<\/strong>Rest<\/strong> <\/em>(residue). But many things can’t go here, either, such as Sonderm\u00fcll <\/em>(special waste), Sperrm\u00fcll <\/em>(bulk trash), Elektronikger\u00e4te\u00a0<\/em>(electronic devices),\u00a0Glas <\/em>(glass), Kleider <\/em>(clothes) and Leuchtstoff- und LED-B<\/em>irnen <\/em>(fluorescent and LED light bulbs). What about all this stuff?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All these\u00a0Tonnen <\/em>and Gelber Sack <\/em>are usually collected once every 14 days. Once a year, you receive an Abfuhrkalender\u00a0<\/em>(removal calendar) that tells you on every single\u00a0Abfuhrtermin\u00a0<\/em>(removal date), so the day and time that the M\u00fcllabfuhr\u00a0<\/em>(waste removal) comes to pick up the trash. Increasingly, you can also find these\u00a0Abfuhrkalender <\/em>online. The M\u00fcllabfuhr <\/em>often comes very early in the morning, so it makes sense to put the trash by the curb the evening before.<\/p>\n

Zieh dich an, wir entsorgen den M\u00fcll!<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"M\u00fcll<\/a>

Braunglas, Gr\u00fcnglas, Wei\u00dfglas<\/em>, and Altkleidersammlung<\/em> next to each other. (Image by R\u00fcdiger W\u00f6lk at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 2.5)<\/p><\/div>\n

For all this stuff, you wanna get dressed, it’s time to\u00a0entsorgen den M\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>(to dispose of the waste)! Sometimes, some of the\u00a0Tonnen\u00a0<\/em>described above also require you to take off that\u00a0Bademantel\u00a0<\/em>and make your way to the\u00a0M\u00fcllcontainer\u00a0<\/em>(waste container). Let’s see what you’ll find.<\/p>\n

White, Brown, Green:\u00a0Altglas\u00a0<\/em>(waste glass)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Glass is collected in the\u00a0Glascontainer\u00a0<\/em>(glass containers) that shouldn’t be too far from your home. As a kid, I used to take the\u00a0Bollerwagen\u00a0<\/em>(handcart) with the glass to the containers, as it was not that far.<\/p>\n

Continuing with the theme of separating by color, Germans have another color separation with glass containers. These colors are even more straightforward. White is for transparent Wei\u00dfglas <\/em><\/strong>(“white” glass), brown for Braunglas<\/strong> <\/em>(brown glass) and green for Gr\u00fcnglas <\/em><\/strong>(green glass). Glass in other colors goes into the green container. You can leave the Deckel\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(top) screwed on. Just make sure the glass is empty. You don’t need to wash it before disposing of it, however.<\/p>\n

Not all glass goes in here, though. Trinkgl\u00e4ser <\/em>(drinking glasses), for example, don’t go into this container, as they disturb the recycling process due to their higher melting point. It’s a bit of common sense too what makes sense and what doesn’t. Throw this glass into the Restm\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Be careful though, because some glass bottles have\u00a0Pfand<\/em>. This is mostly things like Bierflaschen\u00a0<\/em>(beer bottles), which usually have a\u00a0Pfand\u00a0<\/em>of 8 or 10 cents, so it’s a lot less than the plastic bottles and beverage cans. Those, of course, you want to bring back to the store.<\/p>\n

Sonderm\u00fcll<\/em> (special waste)<\/a> and\u00a0Sperrm\u00fcll <\/em>(bulk trash)<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

For most\u00a0Elektronikger\u00e4te\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(electronic devices) and Birnen<\/strong> <\/em>(light bulbs), you can return them to the store. Large retailers even have to accept it if you bring devices back if they’re smaller than 25 cm per side. Or you bring it to the Sammelstelle<\/em>. The same counts for sprays, for example, that have hazardous materials in them.<\/p>\n

Sperrm\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>is stuff that’s too big for any Tonne<\/em>. Think that Matratze<\/strong> <\/em>(mattress) or\u00a0Teppich\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(carpet) you really don’t like anymore. You can bring those to a\u00a0Sammelstelle\u00a0<\/em>or pay to get it picked up. There are certain days in the year as well when it’s time for\u00a0Sperrm\u00fcll<\/em>. People put their stuff at the side of the street, and collectors come pick it up. These are often also private citizens looking to find useful stuff or reuse certain items. Imagine a\u00a0Sofa\u00a0<\/em>(couch),\u00a0Stuhl\u00a0<\/em>(chair) or\u00a0M\u00f6bel\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(furniture) that are still in good condition.<\/p>\n

Kleidersammlung\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(clothes collection)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Altkleider\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(old clothes) go into the\u00a0Altkleidersammlung\u00a0<\/em>(old clothes collection). These are often big, beige bins that have information on the organisation that’s collecting the clothes. Put your clothes in a bag, make sure it’s closed and throw them in. But only clothes that can still be used, that are in good condition<\/strong>. Any clothes that are very dirty or torn go into the Restm\u00fcll<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course,\u00a0Pfand\u00a0<\/em>also needs to go back to the market where you bought the bottles and cans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that’s pretty much it! Well, it is quite a lot. But we made it!<\/p>\n

If you still want to know more, there is the amazing website\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung wirkt\u00a0<\/em>(trash separation works)<\/a>. Learn more about how to recycle properly or do a quiz to see if you are a\u00a0Trennmeister\u00a0<\/em>(separation master)! I also could not possibly list all the differences between each\u00a0Kommune<\/em>, so you can use a tool on that website by simply entering your\u00a0Postleitzahl\u00a0(PLZ)<\/em> (postal code)<\/a> to get more information.<\/p>\n

What experiences have you had with\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung <\/em>(in Germany)? I want to know, tell me in the comments below!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

In 2014, I wrote about M\u00fclltrennung (trash separation) in Germany, but here’s an update on that post with some more information.\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung\u00a0can be pretty confusing in Germany, as each\u00a0Kommune\u00a0(municipality) manages their own\u00a0M\u00fclltrennung for Hausm\u00fcll (domestic waste). This means that in one place, you may have a\u00a0Tonne\u00a0(bin) for everything, and in other towns you may only have…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":12649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[551750,69494],"class_list":["post-12591","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-trash-disposal","tag-waste"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12591"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12652,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12591\/revisions\/12652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}