German consumers are self-confident. At least when it comes to waste separation and recycling. 72% of respondents in a recent survey said that their waste separation behaviour was "good". 23% even gave themselves a "very good" rating. And 63% claim that they follow the relevant guidelines "strictly".
It is possible that some people overestimate their behaviour. At the same time, another study was published that was based on discussion rounds, which allowed participants to talk in detail about their waste separation habits. And here a different picture emerges: consumers obviously have serious problems with the disposal of composite materials, especially that they often cannot identify the different fractions. A classic example is the yoghurt pot with its mixture of plastic, paper and aluminium. Many people are also unaware of the extent to which plastic packaging needs to be cleaned before disposal. What's more, separate collection at home poses a space problem for many. The waste separation system for the kitchen simply doesn't fit in many homes.
The consequences can be seen when emptying the residual waste bins. According to the Federal Environment Agency, around 40% is organic waste and more than 25% is paper, plastics, electronic waste or glass. There is also a considerable amount of waste that is thrown into the special collection bins. As a result, many tonnes of packaging waste and other potentially recyclable materials do not end up where they should according to the Packaging Act. Waste separation only works if it is done correctly.
'Above all, a discard is a loss of recyclable raw materials. Paper in residual waste is not sorted and recycled. Paper in the yellow bag may also be separated from other lightweight packaging under certain conditions, but this material is generally of little interest to paper recyclers due to contamination. However, even biowaste in residual waste does not end up as biomass in the garden or on the field, but in waste incineration. And there they offer little calorific value and only cause a nuisance," says Pacoon Managing Director Peter Désilets.
No recycling without waste separation
The noble goal is the circular economy. However, the difficulties at this level begin long before that: waste separation comes before the recycling process. If the individual recyclable materials are not separated, collected separately in the respective recycling bins and thus sent for recycling, this results in massive quality problems with the recyclate, which in turn leads to high costs and pushes the goal of a genuine circular economy further into the distance.
Used glass, organic waste, plastic: better information urgently needed
In addition to reducing packaging waste, higher recycling rates are a key objective of the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The PPWR is aimed at companies, but also briefly mentions consumer behaviour. Harmonised packaging labelling for sorting by consumers should also improve waste separation.
A good idea, as the aforementioned study on waste separation confirms. In order to improve the corresponding behaviour, the authors recommend one thing above all, in addition to financial incentives: significantly improved information for consumers.
"In Germany, the obligation to provide information about the dual system is clearly regulated: local authorities are responsible for informing households. In return, they receive ancillary fees of around 20 million euros per year from the revenue generated by the dual system's disposal fees. That would be around 50 cents per household for around 41 million households in 2023, but this money is often used for municipal expenditure. The money would easily be enough to produce an informative flyer and send it to households with the annual bill," says Désilets.
Before systems can be harmonised, the benchmark must be determined. A look at the European countries shows that the national approaches to waste disposal are surprisingly different. It is worth taking a closer look at them.
Good waste separation systems characterise the frontrunners
Despite all the room for improvement, Germany is at the top of the European league table when it comes to recycling with its dual system. On the basis of a relatively well differentiated separation system with different coloured bins for residual waste, packaging, paper, organic waste and glass, recycling in Germany achieves rates of between 65% and 71% for municipal waste, depending on the calculation system.
Germany's neighbours in Austria are also far ahead. With around 62% for municipal waste and around 64% for packaging, the Alpine republic is already within the target corridor set out in the PPWR. Accordingly, 65% of all packaging waste must be recycled by 2025, and this proportion is to rise to 70% by 2030. The EU also aims to recycle at least 55% of municipal waste by 2025 and 60% by 2030. Austria has a similar system to Germany based on its packaging ordinance (except that plastic packaging ends up in the yellow bag or yellow bin here).
"If you visit a sorter who collects the collected waste from the yellow bag or yellow bin and then sorts it by material fraction before it goes into recycling, I can see a few important issues that need to be improved: firstly, information for households. There is still too little collection, and in some cases it is sorted incorrectly because there is a lack of information," says Désilets, but that is not the only reason: "Secondly, experience has long shown that the collection rate is significantly higher with collection from households than with bring systems - collection must be simple. Thirdly, reward systems for collection should be initiated". In some places, the reward centre has already been activated: "There are already some good examples. In some places, the collection of residual waste can be staggered, from weekly to monthly. So if you put your packaging in the 'yellow bag', you can reduce the load on your residual waste bin and need fewer collections - which results in a lower waste fee. Or in Switzerland you can buy bin liners. The more rubbish I put in them, the cheaper my residual waste becomes. This has helped to introduce a voluntary - not deposit-based - PET bottle collection. Because then they don't take up any space in the bin bag."
Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the non-EU country Switzerland are also among the model pupils. Basically, the more differentiated a separation system and good infrastructure for separate collection are, the better the recycling rates are. Countries with higher recycling rates have often introduced a wider range of measures, including landfill bans for biodegradable waste, mandatory separate collection of municipal waste and economic instruments such as landfill and incineration taxes.
European laggards in recycling
But there are also stragglers. The European Commission's 2023 Early Warning Report shows that 18 out of 27 Member States are at risk of missing the 2025 targets. It is particularly alarming that eight Member States may not achieve the municipal waste target and ten countries may not achieve both the municipal and packaging waste targets.
Bulgaria and Romania face particularly big challenges. Bulgaria had a recycling rate of only 5% for municipal waste in 2020, while Romania reached only 11.3% in 2021. These countries would have to increase their recycling activities by more than 4 percentage points per year to reach the EU target by 2025 - a feat that no country has yet achieved.
After all, more is slowly being separated and recycled
Overall, however, there is a positive trend in the EU. The recycling rate for municipal waste has risen from 27% in 2000 to 49.6% in 2021. An increase of 21 percentage points in two decades.
"Of course, a lot of investment is needed. Not only is collection important, it also has to be recycled. Germany has had an infrastructure in place for decades and sorting capacities are being continuously expanded. A sorting plant costs tens of millions of euros, so a few hundred million euros are quickly invested. And after sorting, recycling has to take place, which also requires investment," says Désilets. "But there are also exciting examples, such as in Romania, where 80,000 reverse vending machines for glass, metal and plastic packaging were set up at drinks retailers within a very short space of time. This is the largest take-back system in Europe after Germany. Smaller shops can also collect the containers manually at the checkout and charge 10 cents," explains Désilets. Romanian Environment Minister Mircea Fechet expects collection rates similar to those in Germany for glass, aluminium cans and PET bottles from the third year onwards - i.e. from around 2026.
Some countries have made particularly remarkable progress. The United Kingdom, for example - then still a member of the Union - increased its recycling rate for municipal waste from 12% in 2001 to 39% in 2010, while Slovenia recorded the highest increase in recycling rates in the past two decades at 57%.
Many small, exciting ideas
As welcome as the progress is, it does not yet enable a genuine circular economy. In addition to incentive systems, relevant education in schools and improved information for consumers, individual original approaches to sorting and recycling are also coming to the fore.
In Sweden, for example, almost all waste is incinerated - whether the "recycling rate" of 99 per cent achieved in this way is acceptable is more than controversial. This is why there are also new requirements for material recycling in the EU - which does not include incineration. However, the Scandinavian country has also come up with some very innovative ideas.
For example, tax breaks have been introduced for repairs to combat the throwaway mentality. At Uppsala University, a method of feeding a certain type of fly with organic waste before feeding it (full of protein) to farmed salmon was trialled. A special upcycling department stores' only sells goods made from repaired or renovated waste. And even a new sport has emerged in Sweden: "plogging", i.e. jogging while collecting rubbish at the same time.
A drop in the ocean? Perhaps, and they will not replace a lack of infrastructure and organisation. But we all know what can come of many drops.
"When I was in my twenties, I hitchhiked through Greece and travelled by train. There were rubbish lanes several metres wide all along the tracks because people simply threw their rubbish out of the window. Today, the picture is very different and collection containers are becoming increasingly widespread in Europe. On my holidays, I rarely fail to photograph examples of collection and separation methods. One of the more exciting examples was a 'talking' collection bin on Paros," says Désilets.
So something is happening. Collecting is only the first step. After that, the material still has to be sorted and recycled. More on this in our next blogs.
