Einweg, Mehrweg, Papier und Restmüll: My experience with the German waste disposal system as an intern in Berlin
Hear from Chloe, a work abroad student completing an internship in Berlin, Germany as she grapples with getting used to the waste disposal systems used in the city. Listen to her thoughts about waste sustainability in Germany!
Moving to a new country always comes with its challenges; but never did I expect one of those challenges to be learning how to properly dispose of the waste I produce here in Berlin, Germany. Since beginning my internship in September, I have been gradually getting to grips with this once unfamiliar system.
However, this by no means makes me an expert – even upon researching for this blog post, I realised I had been making mistakes! There is so much to learn, and being eager to engage with and understand the requirements is vital.
The Bin Situation:
Black bin for general waste, blue bin for recycling, green bin for outdoor waste: the simple system I grew up with, and, admittedly, never properly thought about engaging with its full capacity.
Here in Germany, there are five different bins (or ‘Tonnen’ in German) for different materials. This was confusing at first, and I had quite a negative attitude towards it: why can’t I just put my stuff in one bin? Why does it matter? But when Mülltrennung (rubbish separation) is so engrained in German culture, it simply cannot be ignored. It also helps to keep the country clean and contributes to materials being properly dealt with after use.
The Gelbe Tonne (yellow bin) can be used for a variety of items: packaging made of plastic, as well as cartons, bottles and cans with no deposit (more on that later). To know whether a certain plastic can be disposed of in this bin, there is usually a handy symbol (fig. 1) indicating that this is the correct way to sort this material. There really is no excuse!
The Papiertonne is a blue bin used for cardboard. Pretty simple! I have designated a section of the kitchen cupboard to store cardboard, and when the pile gets big enough, I take it down to the relevant bin.
It is also necessary to separate glass from clear to brown/blue/green. The bins are clearly labelled, so you really can’t go wrong!
The Biotonne is one I currently do not use – for some reason, there doesn’t appear to be one in my apartment complex’s Müllraum (bin room). For now, any food waste just goes in the black bin – also called the Restmülltonne. This is my go-to for everything that doesn’t fit in these categories – which is unfortunately quite a lot of the waste I produce. Being conscious about this, however, is the first step in being proactive and making eco-conscious decisions when shopping. For example, do I really need to buy my peppers wrapped in plastic? Of course, I don’t – but then I must weigh up how far I need to carry them back to my apartment – what is the risk of dropping them and getting dirty? Is it more expensive to buy non-packaged peppers? And it’s not just the peppers – most fresh fruit and veg I buy are in packages. This is something I want to change in my shopping habits.
The Deposit Situation:
You might be thinking that the bin situation isn’t that different to the UK – but here came quite the culture shock for me: Pfand (deposit). When you buy bottles (plastic or glass) in restaurants or supermarkets in Germany, you often pay between 8 and 25 cents extra. This is because certain bottles can be used as Mehrweg (fig. 2) (multiple use: the material can be refilled and sold again several times before being recycled) or Einweg (fig. 3) (the bottle is recycled after use).
Any bottle with the wording/labels shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3 can be taken to any supermarket’s ‘Leergut’ area (fig. 4). This is a place where you can bring a bag of the bottles you have collected throughout the week and cash them in! You slot the bottle in the hole (fig. 4), making sure that the barcode can be read by the machine – repeat the process – and then you get a lovely receipt ‘Pfandbon’ or ‘Leergutbon’ (fig. 5) printed out. This can then be used in that supermarket where your items will be discounted at checkout!
At first, I was confused as to why people were walking around, checking the bins, with large quantities of bottles in several carrier bags. I then discovered the phenomenon of ‘Pfandsammler’ – people who collect the bottles (sometimes as their only source of income, see the 2021 Pfandstudie: https://www.pfand-gehoert-daneben.de/pfandstudien/studie/ ). This means that it is quite common for people to leave their Pfand bottles near bins after drinking in public places, so that it can be collected by a Pfandsammler.
Well, there you have it: my experiences of waste disposal in Germany! I still have a long way to go, but understanding the process is the first step in making sure I am as responsible as possible with my rubbish. So, next time you visit Germany, remember to dispose responsibly!