Quick answer
Important
1. Start with your local Abfall-ABC
Who makes this rule?
National packaging and product-return rules create the broad structure, while the municipality or district organises much of household collection. Bin colours, accepted food waste, collection schedules, Wertstofftonne systems and Sperrmüll procedures can therefore differ.
Search the official city or district site for “Abfall-ABC” and your postcode, and save the Abfallkalender. The local list is the right place for ambiguous items such as broken plastic objects, treated wood, renovation waste and special glass.
Official source
National guidance for glass, paper, packaging, bio-waste, residual waste, batteries, electrical devices and hazardous household waste.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
Final practical authority
2. The common five-stream household system
Who makes this rule?
Altglas: packaging glass
Put empty glass bottles and jars into the container for white, green or brown glass. Unusual glass colours normally go with green where the local container follows the standard system.
Drinking glasses, ceramics, mirrors and window glass have different material properties and do not automatically belong in bottle/jar recycling containers. Use the local Abfall-ABC.
Altpapier / Papiertonne
Typical items include newspapers, cardboard, clean paper and paper/card packaging. Flatten boxes where requested and keep the material reasonably clean.
Greasy or heavily soiled paper, tissues, kitchen paper, photos and thermal papers such as many receipts belong in residual waste under UBA guidance rather than paper recycling.
Gelbe Tonne / Gelber Sack
This system is primarily for relevant empty packaging made from plastic, metal or composite materials: yoghurt cups, cans, plastic packaging and drink cartons are common examples.
Empty the packaging normally and separate easy components such as an aluminium lid from a plastic cup. Rinsing is generally unnecessary. A broken plastic toy is not packaging and belongs here only if the local system, such as a Wertstofftonne, accepts non-packaging material.
Biotonne
Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea, eggshells, garden material and sometimes other food waste commonly belong in bio-waste, but the accepted list is local.
Do not use ordinary plastic bags. Products marketed as biodegradable or bioplastic are not automatically accepted by municipal processing, so follow the local rule for liners and bags.
Restmüll
Residual waste is the non-recyclable household remainder. Typical examples can include hygiene items, nappies, vacuum-cleaner bags, cat litter and certain broken household materials.
It is not the fallback for batteries, electrical equipment, chemicals, liquid medicines or items the municipality collects separately.
Example
Illustrative: packaging versus plastic
Lina’s empty yoghurt cup is packaging and normally goes into the Yellow Bin/Bag after being emptied. Her broken plastic toy does not automatically go there; she checks whether her municipality uses a Wertstofftonne or another route.
Example only. Follow the official Abfall-ABC for your address.
3. Glass-container times and noise
Who makes this rule?
Bottle banks are loud. Current UBA consumer guidance states working-day use from 07:00 to 20:00, but signs at the container and the local waste authority’s rule take precedence.
Treat those hours as national consumer guidance, not as proof of one nationwide criminal offence. Do not use containers on Sundays or public holidays where the local sign prohibits it.
Official source
Colour separation, materials that do not belong in bottle banks and recommended container-use times.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
4. Pfand: returning beverage containers
Who makes this rule?
Many beverage containers carry a deposit. Covered single-use containers are marked as single use and commonly carry the DPG symbol. Return the empty container through a Pfandautomat or staffed return point and use the receipt at the till.
The federal deposit for covered single-use beverage containers is at least €0.25. The Packaging Act contains scope and return rules. Reusable bottles follow a different system and commonly use deposits such as €0.08 or €0.15, but those amounts are not universal statutory values for every reusable container.
Deposit on covered single-use beverage containers
0,25 €
per container
The Packaging Act contains scope rules and exceptions. Reusable-container deposits are contractual and can differ.
Last verified 22 August 2026 · Federal Ministry of Justice / Federal Office of Justice (opens in a new tab)
The German words you will see
- Einweg
- Single-use packaging that is collected and recycled rather than refilled.
- Mehrweg
- Reusable packaging intended to be returned, cleaned and refilled.
- Pfandautomat
- The return machine that accepts eligible containers and prints a refund voucher.
Official source
The federal €0.25 minimum deposit and return obligations for covered single-use beverage containers, including statutory exceptions.
Federal Ministry of Justice / Federal Office of Justice
5. Electrical and electronic devices
Who makes this rule?
Electrical and electronic devices marked for separate collection must not go into normal household or residual waste. Use a municipal Wertstoffhof or collection service, or a qualifying retailer return point.
Current retailer rules include free return without a new purchase for small devices with no external dimension over 25 cm at retailers with at least 400 m² of electrical-goods sales area and qualifying food retailers with at least 800 m² total sales area that repeatedly or permanently sell electrical goods. Larger devices are generally linked to buying a new device of the same type. Online-retailer rules also exist.
Remove accessible batteries or lamps where the official instructions require and permit it safely. Do not dismantle damaged equipment yourself merely to fit a return category.
Official source
Wertstoffhof and retailer return routes, including the current size and retailer thresholds for mandatory take-back.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
6. Batteries and rechargeable batteries
Who makes this rule?
Batteries and rechargeable batteries must not go into normal household waste. Return common portable batteries through retailer collection boxes—often in supermarkets, drugstores or electronics shops—or an appropriate municipal point.
Damaged or high-energy lithium batteries need particular care. Ask staff at the return point and follow official transport guidance rather than placing them loose in a public box.
Official source
Current collection and return guidance: batteries and rechargeable batteries do not belong in household waste.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
7. Bulky waste, hazardous waste and old medicines
Who makes this rule?
Sperrmüll
Bulky household items that do not fit normal bins may use booked collection, scheduled collection, a Wertstoffhof or a paid/free allowance depending on the municipality.
Never put furniture on the pavement unless the municipality’s rules specifically allow placement for your arranged collection at that time. A pile beside communal bins is not an informal Sperrmüll service.
Schadstoffe / Problemstoffe
Chemicals, solvents, certain paints and pesticides may need a Wertstoffhof or Schadstoffmobil. Keep products in suitable original containers where possible and use the official handover route.
This guide does not provide handling or mixing instructions. For leakage, fire or exposure, follow the product’s emergency information and contact the appropriate emergency or poison service.
Old medicines
Never flush medicines into a toilet or sink. Germany has regional disposal routes: depending on the local system, the authority may direct residents to residual waste, a collection point or a participating pharmacy.
Use the local official medicine-disposal guidance and keep medicines inaccessible to children until handover.
Official source
Why medicines must not go into the toilet or sink, and why the correct disposal route depends on the local system.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
8. Use the Abfallkalender
Who makes this rule?
Many municipalities publish address-specific dates for residual, bio, paper and yellow-bin collection, plus Christmas trees, hazardous-waste mobiles and changes around public holidays. Some offer an official app or downloadable calendar.
A reliable national “find my collection” tool would require maintained municipal data. Until then, the official local calendar is safer than a scraped or generic schedule.
Find the official waste authority
Use the city or Kreis website, not an unverified directory.
Select the exact address
Neighbouring streets can have different collection days.
Save the Abfall-ABC
Use it for item-by-item questions and local exceptions.
Check holiday changes
Public holidays can shift normal collection dates.
9. Frequently asked questions
No. The standard system primarily collects relevant empty packaging. Non-packaging plastic belongs there only where the local collection system accepts it.
UBA guidance says normal emptying is enough and rinsing is generally unnecessary. Separate easy components and do not stack packaging inside each other.
UBA guidance commonly directs unusual colours such as blue to green glass, but follow the labels on the local containers.
Not automatically. Municipal processors may reject them. Check the local Abfall-ABC and use only accepted liners.
The federal minimum for covered single-use beverage containers is €0.25 per container. Scope exceptions and retailer return rules apply.
No. Electrical devices subject to separate collection must use a retailer or municipal return route.
No, unless the municipality specifically authorises that location and time for your arranged Sperrmüll collection.
Never. Disposal routes vary locally, so use the official municipal or environmental guidance.
Official information
Rules and amounts change. Always verify current requirements using official sources.
How to separate household waste, opens in a new tab
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
National guidance for glass, paper, packaging, bio-waste, residual waste, batteries, electrical devices and hazardous household waste.
Separating and disposing of packaging glass, opens in a new tab
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
Colour separation, materials that do not belong in bottle banks and recommended container-use times.
Single-use beverage-container deposits — § 31 VerpackG, opens in a new tab
Federal Ministry of Justice / Federal Office of Justice
The federal €0.25 minimum deposit and return obligations for covered single-use beverage containers, including statutory exceptions.
Returning old electrical and electronic devices, opens in a new tab
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
Wertstoffhof and retailer return routes, including the current size and retailer thresholds for mandatory take-back.
Returning batteries and rechargeable batteries, opens in a new tab
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
Current collection and return guidance: batteries and rechargeable batteries do not belong in household waste.
Environmentally safe disposal of old medicines, opens in a new tab
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)
Why medicines must not go into the toilet or sink, and why the correct disposal route depends on the local system.
Related guides
Amounts and legal requirements can change. We verify this information against official sources and show when each figure was last checked, but always confirm important requirements with the responsible authority before you apply.
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