Waste: Disposing of recyclable materials

The waste disposal of private households and thus also of problematic substances is the responsibility of the districts and independent cities as public waste disposal providers.

Recyclable materials are recyclable waste such as paper, cardboard and packaging made of glass, plastics or metal.
The dual systems are responsible for the disposal of packaging within the meaning of the Packaging Act.
Other recyclable materials that are not packaging are regularly disposed of by the public waste disposal authorities (districts and independent cities).
Collections of recyclable materials can also be carried out by commercial or non-profit providers (commercial or non-profit collection).

As a rule, various disposal systems (delivery and/or collection systems) are set up for disposal:

• Container collection (e.g. igloos for used glass or paper) and/or at the recycling depots
• Yellow bag/ yellow bins (for lightweight packaging)
• if necessary by means of special recycling bins
• for large, non-household quantities via private disposal companies

Contact the administration of your municipality/city or the waste association to find out how and where the recyclable materials are collected. In many cases, you can also look up this information on the respective website via a "waste ABC".

The dual systems are responsible for the collection of packaging waste. They have commissioned a private waste disposal company or the public waste disposal authority with the collection on site.

Most municipalities and districts issue waste calendars in which the collection dates and the collection methods are indicated.

Consultation with the public waste disposal authorities required

Consultation with the public waste disposal authorities required

Closed Substance Cycle Management Act (KrWG)

Act on the Placing on the Market, Return and High-Quality Recycling of Packaging (VerpackG)

Local statutes of the districts and independent cities (usually separated by waste disposal statutes and waste fee statutes, published on the Internet or the official gazette/district gazette)

Consultation with the public waste disposal authorities required

individual

Consultation with the public waste disposal authorities required

As for waste disposal as a whole, there is no nationwide uniform fee regulation for the disposal of recyclable materials by the districts and independent cities.
Information on the costs incurred can be found in the respective waste fee statutes of your public waste disposal provider as well as on the homepages of the commercial waste disposal companies.

Product responsibility applies to packaging. The disposal of packaging according to the Packaging Act is already paid for by the consumer when purchasing the product.