Recycling Process Germany

Recycling implies converting waste into a usable product and its significance is gaining momentum. Germany produces more than 400 million tons of waste but recycles 78% of its waste.
Further, government programs in Germany also provide monetary compensation to carry out responsible recycling. The ‘green dot’ on a product is an important signifier that implies that the product is recyclable.

Waste products in Germany are managed using colour tags and this way of managing waste, by dedicating different colour bins to different types of waste has proved to be quite efficient for them in the recycling process. There are six different colour bins dedicated to different types of waste. For example, yellow bins are for light-weight plastic and aluminium products, blue bins are for paper wastes and cardboards, white bins are for compost material like vegetable and food remains, brown and green bins are used for glass material and so on.

Potentially harmful waste products like batteries, bulbs and fluorescent tubes cannot be kept in a bin and are identified using special dots. Moreover, all electronic waste is dumped at a specific place called Wertstoffhof or ‘Recycling Centre’, which is found in various neighbourhoods across cities.

Citizens are expected to properly dispose of their wastes and the success of this recycling program has only been possible due to increased community responsibility and participation.