Recycling in Germany vs. USA 🤯 🇩🇪 It's Totally Different and Better Here!
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2024
- Before we moved to Germany, we knew that recycling was important, but we were not prepared for just how much we had to learn once we arrived! It feels like we had to take a college course to learn how to do it properly! In this video, you'll see how Kevin has to separate our trash in 20 different categories each time he goes to the Wertstoffhof (recycling center and dump), which is about every two to three weeks. It must also be noted that we are more than happy to recycle well and reduce our waste in general, as being environmentally friendly is also important to us. So, bring it on, Germany!
When we arrived in Germany in February of 2021, we furnished our house mostly from IKEA, so we had cardboard coming out of our ears! You'll see footage of just how crazy it got and how we eventually (two months later, once we got a car) were able to take care of it.
One thing we'd like to emphasize is the process of recycling is not the same all over the country. We are only sharing our own personal experiences. Please share your experience in the comments below!
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//TIME STAMPS//
0:00 - Intro
1:02 - How recycling was for us in the USA
4:01 - The 20 different categories we must recycle
18:28 - See how our trash is separated in our pantry
19:30 - See how our trash is separated in our carport
Sounds from www.zapsplat.com/
Did you guys see how many different categories we have to sort our trash here in Southern Bavaria? We have been told it's different in other parts of Germany. Also, it must be noted that we live in a very small town, so that changes the recycling resources we have here. So please make sure to tell us what it's like in your town/Kreis/Bundesland so we can get the complete picture of what it's like here in Germany!
Same. I do think that in Germany the children are teaching the elder generation by thinking green. And I am proud of these green warriors 👍👍👍
@@helfgott1 yes that’s so awesome! Our kids are learning, too.
Here in Bremen / state of Bremen there are yellow bags. Everything that is recycled can go into it. It is sorted by the company. But we pay fees for this. The bags are picked up every 2 weeks. I try to use plastic as little as possible. Nets for unpacked vegetables save a lot. Instead of Tetrapack there are now cardboard milk cartons. They are disposed of in the paper.
If you want to reduce the ammount of plastic trash, try to fiind shops called "Nimm's Lose" or packaging free shops. You can bring your own containers to fill them up with flour, pasta, Rice, nuts, cereals etc. We have one in Rosenheim and when you come up to us, I show it to youo. Btw, the way of recycling differs from district to district. We in Rosenheim have the containers all over the place for the different glass, paper, compost and everything plastic and tin cans. If you buy a lot of water, lemonade or juices, try to find a Getränkemarkt and get everything from there. You buy everything in their boxes (like the bierkiste) and you bring everything back, the boxes are much easier to store and you don't have the hassle of bringing everything to the store to check if the machine takes it. Composting or biomass are two different things. Biomass is every food that can not be composted, like cooked food or tea bags, etc. That stuff is used to make energy. Everything that does not compost in 4 weeks goes into the bio mass, with the exception of the biodegradable packing peanuts. I had a box of biodegradable (compostable) packing peanuts and was not sure if those can be tossed into the compost and called our Inviroment office in the city hall and they told me that those go into the normal trash. Our system can be complicated but you get used to it eventually. If your paper bin is full before they come to collect it, take a big cardbord box for the rest and put it beside the bin on collection day, they will pick it up tooas long as everything is cut down and pressed flat.
Well, for us in BW (Karlsruhe) it is usually much easier. Although that often differs from city to city or municipality always something, but so complicated I have not yet experienced.
Even at the recycling center with us it is not so cumbersome!
You will get the award for the best recycler of 2021 and a german citizenship on top ... :-)
🤣🤣🚛🚛 so awesome!
With those recycling skills you could get the Austrian citizenship as well. 😉
We have the same categories at our Altstoffsammelzentrum, but we are going to get a yellow bag in 2022.
Where you live, that kind of plastic recycling is unique, even for Germany. Most places in Germany have a yellow bin or yellow garbage bag for all the plastic and metal cans. You only drive to the recycling center / wertstoffhof, if you have way more, then you can throw away the normal way.
Like the paper - we can simply place additional paper next to our paper bin when it gets taken away
I live in Leipzig so you can even throw small electronics like a broken hair dryer into the Gelbe Tonne. They just have a different system here and call it Gelbe Tonne +.
Bayern macht es - wie so oft - sehr viel besser als alle anderen Bundesländer!
Es lebe der Freistaat, es leben das föderale System, es lebe unser vorbildliches, liebenswertes Deutschland, das seit vielen Jahren mit großem Abstand beliebteste Land der Welt!
@@Rainerjgs Bayern ist für mich Abfall.
Good point it generally differed locally. But things like Pfand and gelbe Tonne or gelber Sack (DSD Produkte) are standard in whole Germany. Just well west people call it gelber Sack or gelbe Tonne and some may use different Colours/ Tonnen
They're not standard here in Bavaria and I'm very glad. I often see cities littered with the yellow sacks everywhere. It looks terrible.
And for batteries: every store that sells batteries HAS to take back old batteries! It’s mostly small green containers at the checkout.
Ah so good to know!
also i would recommend buying a battery recharger and only buy rechargable batteries (Akkus) so you have no more gargabe from old batteries and save money. Makes especialy sense in a big family
Also you forgot ANOTHER category: the donation bins for used clothes, shoes, bedclothes and used glasses in particular reading glasses.
But check before, many places organize children clothes swap fairs, maybe there is one in your place or close by
I agree with TheIncredible1984! Even more, buy a solar battery charger and a battery charge tester, and put the kids to do the charging job!
they will love it! (if they do not charge, then they cannot play...)
Another question, if you take magazines to the AltPapier (like Der Spiegel or TV guide or similar things) do you take out the staples?
If not you should do it, and put the staples on the metal container. Ordnung über alles!!!
And remember the yogurt metal lid to one container and the yogurt plastic to another.
In East Germany the recycling was even more intense, even the hair cuts from the Frisseurs had to be recycled.
And there was a joke: By law, every enterprise had to have a recycling plan, but every year one enterprise always got a penalty fee for not doing so: the toilet paper combine.
But I am sure that the Germans will find a way to do so.
@@formerlyinpragur4736 There are also organisations which take old used stuff (clothes, but also games, books, and whatever else people might need) and sell them in special charity shops where only low income people are allowed to shop.
I wish they had that in America!
thanks for the shoutout guys! you're well on your way to becoming recycling masters!
Don't worry, there's hardly a German who does everything a 100% right. Just try your best. E.g. my house does not have a Biotonne, so this goes into Restmüll.
In my hometown it is even prohibited by regulation (with fine) to put organic waste into the Restmülltonne. So, it not even depends on states, but also by county/city.
Herr Wachtmeister, ja es war dieser Kommentar bitte.
It doesn't have a Biotonne? Oof.
On the other hand, people at our place still dump small *plastic bags* filled with biological waste in there from time to time even though it specifically states no bag of any kind should be in there. Which results in extra costs for the community.
I visited Germany two years ago and everything there made sense. The culture is much more structured and obeyed rules more respectively than the US, and I loved it. I would love to expat there someday.
Each to their own i guess. I know americans who saw the same behavior as literal slavery. I don`t know. Following at least some guidelines that benefit all is called being "not an asshole" i would say. Sometimes american behavior for me is really strange, although iam part american and lived there for a year.
To be honest, i am German and i didn't even know that much about recycling and Trash in Germany. You are so awsome in trying to do everything right.
I laughed so hard when Kevin talked about not knowing if the bottle was brown or green. That's so so German. It's like someone made a mistake and he was supposed to have been born German to begin with. As we'd say "An ihm ist ein Deutscher verloren gegangen".
Yes, he is an engineer. Structured thinking....
Wow. This is what i call fully germanized. You should get an Award for your efforts. If we all would recycle like this the world would be a nicer place.
I never thought I'd enjoy 24 minutes of recycling explained as much as I did this one.
Crazy, eh?!?
The way Kevin says it all with a smile and a giggle makes it better!
Also, wir dürfen keine Fleischreste in die Biotonne entsorgen!!!
WTF? I live in northern Germany and we only have bins for paper (blue), "der grüne Punkt" (mostly all kind of packaging) (yellow), organic stuff (brown), residual waste (grey or black), glas and the deposite machines in the stores. The fruit containers, plastic packaging, tetra packs ... we dispose it all in one bin (the yellow one).
We only go to the recycling center if we have larger items such as bulky waste or garden waste. But bulky waste can also be picked up from home free of charge.
I know! It is much harder for is here.
I think Bavaria has to do everything a little.. Extra^^
Ja, in Berlin auch so.
The rules are made by the Landkreis. They differ very strongly. In Böblingen you can bring in your trash to the Wertstoffhof and storting is an absolutly nightmare. It is absolutly insane. In Karlsruhe you are not supposed to bring it in. The yellow bin is supposed to be used. And in Ludwigsburg they only differ in the form like flat, rolls and Kubes. The real sorting is done by machines there.
Same here.
A typical german word: "Entsorgen" which means disposal but literally translates to "getting rid of worry". So it is satisfying to take a tour to the Wertstoffhof, because you have to worry less afterwards.
What a cool literal translation for disposal!
I'm German and I've never thought about it that way. 😅👍
That's actually what "entsorgen" originally meant, but it went out of use until it was "reinvented" as the opposite of "besorgen" (getting something).
Correct. And at the beginning "entsorgen" was used for dangerous disposal like poison or radioactive stuff. That's why the "getting rid of worry" or maybe "getting rid of responsability" makes sense.
@@TrueCyprien "Besorgen" ist also das Zulegen von Sorgen?! 🙈😂
About the green and brown glass: If you are unsure put it in the green container since green glass can be recycled from non-pure Altglas. Brown glass needs to be relatively pure brown glass in order to be recyclable into new brown glassware. This also means that other colours like blue glass goes into the green container.
Cool, didn't know that. This drives me always craczy, also... I have a red-green-sight weakness ... -_-
That’s interesting because here in the U.K. we are told to put any coloured glass we are unsure about into the brown glass container. Also if the clear or green glass containers are full you can put everything in with the brown glass.
Ok, thanks for the tip! I have had some blue glass too.
Green and brown glass has his colour fron iron oxid. So it s relative easy to turn the colour by add or reduce the iron (Fe2/Fe3).
Clear glass has non of it so it s importend to be sepetated.
I learned that the other way around, to put anything one isn't sure about into the brown glass container.
7:22 normaly you Drink the Beer put the empty bottles back in the case you brought them in and return the entire case with all bottles in one go
We actually have not bought a case of beer yet. That Kiste was a gift.
@@kevinmcfall5285 It is Kasten, not Kiste. And isn't it crate in English?
@@Henning_Rech What? Where I live you can say Kiste as well. Kiste Bier or Kasten Bier, does not matter.
You can bring that Lammsbräu Kiste back to a shop which also sells them. They should actually take it back. Also the bottles in it. For this special types of bottles and Kisten it is sometimes hard to find a shop that takes it back.
Yes, the store generally has to take back what it sells. So the Lammsbräu bottles probably had a deposit but the store did not take them because they are not sold in that particular store... Yes, I know. Way to be complicated! But that's also why they tell you it is a Pfandflasche at the Alm: If you finish it there and then you can bringt the bottle back inside and they have to take it back and give you back your deposit.
And the worst thing is: after you have figured it all out, if you move to another municipality, the rules might be totally different! So annoying! Many municipalities also publish little booklets in various languages explaining the system in detail, you can probably pick one up somewhere in the Bürgerbüro/Rathaus.
I remember when that "Recyclemania" started in the late 80´s early 90´s and as a Kid which i was at this Time i found it exciting. For now looking backward it was a great Step to keep the Space much cleaner then it was before. Now it feels absolutely normal to recycle my Trash. Sorry my English, it´s been a long Time to speak or write English but your Channel is so good to refresh my Skills.
I've just decided you deserve a degree in recycling - and a medal. Congratulations !
🤣🤣🤣 Kevin’s gonna love your comment!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife his New titel: Kevin the Master of Recycling 👑
@@annaluisevogler9175 yes!
Thanks!
It took a while to learn but it isn't so hard now.
I‘m touched and concerned at the same time… touched because of your interest and efforts and concerned about my life😂 I‘m a 44 year old German mom living in Stuttgart, have also lived in 3 other countries, and have only ever separated into:
1. Gelber Sack (all plastic, packaging etc)
2. Paper/cardboard etc
3. Restmüll (literally the rest of your garbage😄)
4. compost (I only use it for gardening stuff though..leaves etc)
5. glass and batteries… collect those for quite a long time and then just bringthem round the corner
I have never been to a „Wertstoffhof“🙄😃
So don‘t worry too much…doing really great!
Oh really! I think things are quite different here in our town than they are in other places in Germany. In our town, everyone we know goes to the Wertstofhof on a regular basis and we have no Gelber sak and must sort our own plastic.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife It's because she lives in a big city. There they don't seperate so much. But that's not good for the environment. Better to learn the rules like you did. Once you got it, you do it automatically without thinking a lot. Only bothers you in the beginning. XDD
The thinner plastic bottles (single use) should have Pfand on it as well.
You are doing really well explaining all of this!
@flomoe Richtig :-)
Most of the thinner drinks bottles (really only except juice) and also all drinks cans carry Einweg-Pfand, which is 25 cents and therefore quite a bit higher than the Mehrweg-Pfand of 8 or 15 cents. You have been throwing money in the trash. Take them back to a store instead - often you can use the same machine for returning Einweg and Mehrweg bottles.
@@MsJojo1910 wenn das Getränk in der einwegflasche Kohlensäure enthält, so ist die Flasche pfandpflichtig
@@philippschmidt4053 Das stimmt nicht so ganz nur Fruchtsäfte haben keinen Pfand. Eistee z.B. hat auch Pfand oder Stilles Wasser ebenfalls, die Aussage stimmt nicht!!
@@animeterror Diese Diskrepanz gab es schon seit der Einführung des Pflichtpfands, war aber die Grundlage für den Unterschied.
17:09 Landfills are widely a thing of a long gone past in Germany. The 'Restmüll' (residual waste) usually goes to a 'Müllverbrennungsanlage' (waste incineration plant) where it gets incinerated and they make energy out of it. So one reason for sorting all recyclable stuff out is to prevent that precious recyclable material just gets incinerated
they do so much Mülltrennung in germany that one of the Müllverbrennungsanlagen in Munich had to close due to lack of garbage
Same here in Switzerland in regard to waste incineration, and because of that there is a category of stuff that is impossible to incinerate and is neither toxic nor valuable (ceramics and ‘non-food glass’ like broken picture frames, mirrors etc.) called ‘Grubengut’ that actually still goes to landfills and is thus collected separately, not going into ‘Restmüll’. If you were to fed it into an incinerator, it would just add to the ashes which have to be deposited more carefully than the Grubengut and it would reduce the heat generated from waste incineration as well as taking up capacity in the incinerator.
Similar reasons apply to biomass, as the mixture coming from households is often wet which reduces the heat output from incineration. Fermentation and composting can be used to extract energy in the more useful form of biogas, keeping part of the carbon in it in solid form (instead of converting all into CO2 as incineration does) and probably makes waste handling easier by keeping everything that can decay on its own in its own separate feed.
Die dünnen Plastikflaschen haben oft 25cent Pfand! Also nicht einfach wegschmeißen!!!
And I think you recycle way more than I do and I’m German 🙈 I have to rethink what I’m doing daily in my kitchen 😉
🤣🤣😜 Too funny! Well now we feel validated in how much work this has been!
Though naturally ideally you don't even buy them at all. Instead you buy your drinks at a proper Getränkehalle in proper "Mehrwegflaschen", meaning you bring back the empty bottles and they get reused. Sadly since the "Einwegpfand" has been introduced, the use of disposable plastic has risen, even though the Mehrweg-System is preferable due to less waste.
Ok! I will be more vigilant for the Pfand plastic bottles!
@@kevinmcfall5285 @Tek Mehrweg plastic (like Coke or Fanta) are in fact 0,15€ and glass (beer etc) 0,08€.
Einweg plastic bottles with the official "Pfandlogo" is where the money is... 🤣
@@kevinmcfall5285 there is that black and white symbol on the plastic bottles that's being recognised by the return machine scanner. If that's on it, the bottle is worth 25ct.
Despite all the hassle, Kevin still looked and sounded excited. ;)
I always try to have a good attitude!
@@kevinmcfall5285 👍😂
That was definitely a masterclass in recycology. Very well done, Kevin. ;)
Beer crates are always multiuse. For crates like yours, you might have to return them where you bought them since others might not accept that special brand.
Breweries are also having a hard time getting their crates back and running shortages due to more and more people building bars, tables, beds, sofas out of beer crates.
Fun fact: "Kiste" could be used for the word "coffin" in a funny or slangy way.
It can also be a slang word for your behind, your PoPo
That is funny it can mean coffin too!
..und auch "Zyste" hat dieselbe Etymologie.
@@kevinmcfall5285 Plus also bed. „in die Kiste steigen“ - go to bed to usually have sex. „in die Kiste fahren“ - end up in a coffin.
In former times the carpenters produced coffins and Kisten and wardrobes. It's all the same stuff. Therefore they used the same word for all this things, too.
Back in the nineties, my German mother-in-law used to cut out the plastic windows from envelopes and separate paper tags and staples from the tea bags. A fun way to spend your retirement, I used to think. German recycling zeal goes way back.
Tip for your bio trash can: wash it after it is emptied next time with Water, until it is clean. Then take a piece of wood and lay it under the Deckel to keep it open, so air can go into it. It will smell less. My grandpa does it his life long and it works perfectly.
In some citys in summer biotrash ist emptied every week without extra cost.
Or you can buy Biotonnenpulver and put on the top every time you throw away Biomüll. During winter it's not necessary, but in summer helps a lot.
Take a KÄRCHER :-)
Yes airing it is the way to go, flies/ maggots don’t like bright and I guess “fresh” spaces to live in
My mother put a net between the trash can and the top against insects. Don't know if it works ?
@@reinhard8053 many Insects have their eggs in the waste, before you even buy the fruits...so I think it would keep some Insects in and those, whitch don't have teir eggs in the waste out.. but I don't think it helps against the smell,.because the smell comes from rotting compost...
I’ve been watching your videos to find out what has changed over there since I was stationed there in the 80’s and 90’s. Recycling is the only change that hasn’t been subtle.
You only have to bring bottles and special trash to the Wertstoffhof, Tetrapak and mixed household trash is "grüner Punkt" that you put into the "Gelber Sack"! ;)
We don’t have a Gelber Sack here! Crazy, right?!
Great job, you guys recycle better than anyone I know. Certainly much better than myself^^
🤣🤣 poor Kevin!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife he is doing such a great job!
True
Thanks!
Wow, I`m really impressed.
In case your job is not working out for you, you could start a career anytime at a "Werkstoffhof".
You are probably the only person in Germany who figured out how the trash seperation is done 100% correctly.
I had no idear...
Were I live, we have the "Gelbe Sack". Such a relife.
Kevin if you have your first bottle made of blue glass - please make a video how you try to figure out where to put it in in the Werkstoffhof.
Btw. As a german who speaks Swedish let me explain: A kista and a Kiste are no false friends. The main meaning of "Kiste" is a wooden box. You can also say "er liegt in der Kiste" (He lies in the box) to say something like "He lies 6 feet under".
And even the Swedish box låda is related to many words like the German Schublade or the english "to load"
Hahaha,🤭✌️
it was a lot of fun to watch you explaining all these things.
Kevin is becoming an expert, he did it so well, maybe he can do a TV show for recycling in the future.
You can spend so much time in Germany for recycling, it can be a kind of hobby.
In Germany usually the grocery stores like Rewe or Edeka have boxes for the batteries, mostly at the place where you can pack your stuff into the shopping bags.
In Vienna, Austria we have something for normal garbage and paper near to the house and somewhere on the street are places for glass bottles white and colour, for all the plastics and metal. And the groceries have machines for Pfand bottles.
My parents in Berlin have all the garbage cans near to the house at the side of their court with big cans for plastic, bio, different bottles, paper, metal and normal garbage. With the beer bottles they have to go to the grocery store, mostly Netto.
When I visit my family in Germany
i always ask them the first day's how it goes.
Thanks for sharing that important topic with us. It's always funny to see it with the eye's of someone else. ☺️😜
I guess in most of the bigger towns there aren't so much different bins available because of lack of space. We have in our "Hinterhof" just enough space for paper, plastic, food waste and the Restmüll. And these are all small bins. So I guess it not only depends on the landlords on how much they want to spend on providing bins, it's even about having enough space for that whole recycling game.
Great video! Thank you for explaining all of that :)
It's not really up to the landlords to decide anything there, it's a bit just different from municipality to municipality.
Plastic/Compound materials. Carton/paper. Biowaste. Pfand. Glass/Batteries (separated later on). Mixed trash.
Just 6 kinds of trash and you're pretty well off on recycling already. 7 if you separate paper and carton.
Here are some tips for your organic waste problem: You need to clean your organic waste bin from time to time. It also helps if you put a thin layer of straw, sawdust, egg cartons at the bottom.
This helps against maggots: Mix salt, vinegar essence and water and put the mixture in the bin. After the appropriate time, leave the bin to air dry. Maggots come from flies that lay their eggs in the bin. Always close the lid of the bin so that the flies do not get in in the first place.
So-called Biotonnenpulver (bio-bin powder ) is available on the market. It binds odours and is said to be biological. (no experience with that)
By the way, I live in Oberbayern, too. But our recycling is much much easier. For example, you can put the TetraPaks, cans, caps, tubes and all sorts of plastic in one bag or container.😁
In Lower Saxony we have Bio, Paper, Yellow (the green button) and Rest. But your recycling is very complicated and I‘m sure nearly nobody does it so special and correctly like you.
Excactly the same here in Hessen where I live.
I am trying my best!
Ja, hier in Niedersachsen haben wir auch den gelben Sack. Abholung 1x wöchentlich. Oder natürlich eine gelbe Tonne.
@@ullakroger7866 ich kenne es aus Hannover auch, dass wir blauen Säcke für Papier und die normalen gelbe Säcke hatten. Die schwarzen Säcke wurden reglementiert. Die blauen Papiersäcke kosteten dann was. Aber es wurde öfter geleert. Hier in Ostfriesland wird alles außer Bio nur alle 4 Wochen geleert. Das ist echt selten.
Same in Berlin. Though you forgot to mention the glass which as far as I'm aware is done everywhere.
We live in Lower Saxony and we seperate our waste into 6 categories: Altpapier (paper, cardboard etc), Verpackung (packaging from plastic, metal or styropor etc), Kompost (we put it in our composting place in the garden), Restmüll (waste like cooked foodwaste, old cloth that cannot be used again, toothbrushes, paperhandkerchief etc), Altglas (green, brown or white mostly wine-bottles, oilcans, pickeled vegs, jam ect) and Pfandglas (bottles for beverages, mostly glass but also plastic/Mehrweg)
We have three garbage cans: One emtied by the lokal Abfallentsogung the Restmülltonne, the Altpapiertonne and the Verpackungsmülltonne called Gelbe Tonne - both emtied by a private Recycling-company. We only rarely have to bring any waste to the Werkstoffhof. Batteries, light bulbs and corks from wine-bottles can be put in a box in the supermarket. The Altglasscontainer ist to ne found on the parking lot of the supermarket.
It's a challenge at first to find out what to do with your waste in Germany, but this system is a try to reduce waist or at least make the best of it (to recycle it).
What I found really funny: when I first learned the English word for the machine where you reclaim your deposit: "reverse vending machine” is a word that I found really nice!
That makes sense!
I never found myself watching a video about trash before but this was surprisingly interesting!! thank you :))
And thats why it is called "Wertstoffhof"... because this trash has a value! Wert = Value.
yes, there's money in "them that trash". Several documentary films show how they do it. Unfortunately they barely make any profit, but there's hope that when *everyone* recycles as well as you do, then it will pay off big!
Most sodas and waters purchased in the bendable plastic bottles are to be returned to the grocery store for Pfand. Exempt are usually fruit juices purchased in the same bottles
I think that 20 categories is really the optimum. Many people where I live only do the following categories:
Yellow Bin (Plastic; Packaging made from Aluminium, Styrofoam and Weißblech; Mixed Packaging)
Green Bin (Paper)
Brown Bin (Organic Waste)
Grey Bin (Restmüll)
Pfandflaschen & Bierkisten
(Can be returned at almost any grocery store)
Glass bottles without Pfand
(Containers found every 500 or so meters in most towns;
Seperated by white, green and brown color)
Batteries
(Many grocery stores have bins for them behind the checkout area)
Sondermüll (Mostly Electronic Waste)
(Brought to a Werkstoffhof)
Sperrmüll (for any non-electrical waste that is too large for bins and/or doesn't fit into the other categories)
(This is collected once every few months, though you have to register in advance that you want them to pick up your Sperrmüll)
Hallo there are different rules in every Kreis (County). We habe yellow bags for all Plastik. A hint for your Biomüll. Use this Material you buy for a Cats toilette. Always put a handful of this over your Biomüll, when you throw something in. You will habe no smell and no maggots. You are doing this very well.
we have the yellow bin/sack as well, it gets separated of course, but that is done at a recycling factory. Sometimes it may also be simply burned for energy which is not the best way of getting rid of it of course, but at least the burning is controlled and filtered again.
Even with those wooden palettes there are things to consider: those that you had were "Einweg" (non-reusable), so they will indeed be accepted by the communal "Wertstoffhof", mostly for free. If they are just from pure wood (not from fiberboard or varnished with paint), you might also want to burn them in a stove instead of wood you'd have to buy (I think I've seen one in your house, but if you don't use it, there will be a neighbor that will happily take the palettes in your kind of neighborhood). All that said, there is still another category of palettes, the reusable "Europalette", with a "EUR" sign on it. They are heavier, widely used commercially and part of a deposit scheme. Logistic companies that deliver one to your house will want to take it with them again, or will come by to collect it, or will simply have you pay for it (I think something like 25 EUR). But that means you can also sell them for that kind of money. They often look horribly used, but good, new ones, are quite sought after by some people who build furniture from them like beds or garden tables (they are extremely sturdy, and cheap compared to wood you buy at a DIY market).
Love the shout out to the legend NALF! ;) great job and really enjoying your videos. As a German I can say that your family is doing a great job overall! Good to have folks like you here!
against the Smell: Keep the Biotonne clean and as dry as possible. The paper bags are a great start, but you can also put eggshels and paper towels down at the bottom
or organic cat litter that is compostable. but if you have a garden, then just do a compost.
Yes..you can look online and the recycle department have tips how to deal with your organic bin... Infact sometimes the trash men will leave you an information note. They did that for me once because in winter when it gets really cold the organics freeze and then do not empty out.. The trash men left me an information sheet which said to put some cardboard at the bottom of the bin.. This soaks up any liquid and stops the organics freezing to the bottom, so it will still empty when they tip it out even at - 10c.
I always put cardboard in the bottom of my organic bin now (I cut down cardboard boxes to fit the bottom of the bin), even in summer... This also helps against strong smells!
Also keep the bin in the shade. A heavy brick on the lid also makes it more difficult for the flies to get under the lid.. Which will reduce flies and therefore maggots.
PE stands for polyethylene, there are quite a few other abbreviations you can find on plastic items in Europe if you are interested in chemistry such as PS (polystyrene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) etc etc
Yes and PE-LD stands for PE-low-density, that's why it's flexible, there is PE-HD too, which is the high-density PE obviously.
But it's hard to recycle plastic, that's why they try to get clean material of just one version in one container to melt it and make new such things.
I occationally do 3D printing (with less than 100g 3D print waste per year! I just print things that I want to keep. When I don't like the looks or the "predicted" function (would it work as it should?) when I design it, then I don't print it ;-) and I have seen quite some differences in the materials and I don't dare to recycle it on my own. It gets unpredictable. So I can imagine how difficult it would be to recycle the household plastic items from grocery shopping...
And that unpredictability is why there often is a downcycling where they make less sophisticated items out of recycled plastic, because there are plastic parts in it that should not have been there.
cool folks. Nice to have you here!
Another great video. You succeeded to make something as boring as recycling quite entertaining. So you earned 2 badges: 1 for the entertaining video, the other one for your excellent recycling job! We're trying to recycle and separate as good as we can as well. Small steps, but very important steps to do something for a better environment.
Not all more flexible plastic bottles go into the garbage... those with the Mehrwegflaschen-symbol also get returned to the store (Symbol with a can, a bottle and a curved arrow)
Ok, I will keep an eye out for that!
@@kevinmcfall5285 Here's a link...pls look at the two different logos at the end of the article...
www.mehrweg-mach-mit.de/was-ist-mehrweg/
@@hovawartfreunde4599 I didnt´t want to confuse them with german Verschachtelungswörtern, so that they do not fall into the Verschachtelungswortkonfusionsverzweiflungsfalle.
@@hovawartfreunde4599 Ausserdem, netter Name! Ein (leider verstorbener) Freund der Familie hatte auch einen Hovawart, und ich hab sie immer wieder bei mir zum dogsitting gehabt, zuletzt für 4 Monate, bevor sie eine neue, tolle Familie gefunden hat. Super Hunderasse, ich vermisse sie manchmal wirklich!
I am happy to see that your region still has that funny sorting of different kinds of plastic. When I lived in the south of Munich 30 years ago we had to separate PS from PE and PP, and PE-HD (high density) and PE-LD (low density). I almost felt like a chemist. Now we live in Swabia and have the usual yellow bag you mentioned.
Yes! It does make you feel like a chemist!
Great video,I really like how you deep dived in to the recycling and trying to get a system into it.
Thank you, Petra!
getting all that stuff picked up is quite the luxury. here in switzerland we always have to go to the "Werkstoffhof". Here and there there are a few separate stations for bottles or tins etc but feels like they get fewer and fewer with the years. Kinda nice to see that you can recycle the Styrofoam too. This stuff goes into our regular trash usually and takes up loads of space.
This should be the test immigrants have to pass in order to receive citizenship.
This video was so much fun to watch!
After a few minutes I was wondering: did you ever dream of this? Like a nightmare, in which you were surrounded by hundreds of bins and you didn't find the right one? :D
You are unbelievably busy and enthusiastic and ambitious to learn this!
I just through all plastic in the yellow bin.
Nice! Which Bundesland are you in, if I may ask?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Thüringen.
Me too. I‘m from Rheinland-Pfalz
@@Der_wahre_C17 Hello, fellow Thuringian!
Kudos to Kevin, MR (Master Recycler)! As for the BioMüll: In our area of Bavaria we have the option of having a small brown bucket (with lid) , along with biodegradable bags to go it it, all provided by the town, instead of the great big bin. We chose this option BECAUSE of the maggots and smell and bugs. 😜 This way, I can take a walk whenever it gets full and drop it off before the creepy crawlers come. Our town is even nice enough to leave the BioMüll bins outside the Wertstoffhof fence so you can drop that stuff off even when it's closed. You could see if the little bucket is an option in your village.
in our community near cologne in germany, we have 4 bins at the house. The blue bin is for paper and cardboard. The yellow bin is for al kinds plastic packeting, also for tins or tetrapacks etc. The brown bin is for organic and compost trash. ther dark grey bin is for the rest of trash. At the Wertstoffhof we have also bins for Weiss-, Grün- und Braunglas. and all Pfand bottles are going to the Pfandautomat.
Awesome explained !!! I wish more Country in the World, would do more Recycling.
We do, too! It’s so important!
In Berlin the biomass is used to make biogas and some of the lorries and cars of the garbage-company are run with that biogas or it's used to heat the buildings.
Very cool!
In parts of Upper Franconia as well :)
Now after a year I believe you are now more comfortable with all the recycling rules. Absolutely fabulous how you manage to get things done 👍. In case you are not yet aware and because you did mention not having a yellow recycling bin: I believe this is done differently by state. In some regions you can apply for yellow bin bags at the community center twice a month. You can then put them on the side walk for the recycling people to pick up. I believe you should also receive a calendar with the dates trash will be picked up from the Abfallwirtschaft. In those they also mention what waste goes in which bin.
Thanks for your awesome videos!
Based on the occasional landscape shots, I had already assumed that you are in pretty much the same area of Bavaria where I grew up. This recycling system with the many different types of plastic also looks very familiar to me! But I can tell you: It's gotten easier already! When I was quite young, there were also two separate paper containers at the Wertstoffhof: one for "paper" and one for "cardboard". And nobody ever knew exactly why these paper bags from the bakery had to go to "cardboard" and not to "paper"... When I grew older, at some point there was only one bin for the two of them.
Anyway, I love how enthusiastic Kevin is about recycling, it's really fun to watch! :)
Regarding the Neumarkter Lammsbräu cases and also bottles, I’m pretty sure that they have a deposit, so you shouldn’t bring them to the Wertstoffhof. Generally speaking, the shop where you buy things has to accept those bottles back. I don’t think I ever saw them in the supermarket, I only sold tons of them when I worked in catering and we always collected them and I think a supplier took them back. You can probably get some money back, I would guess 8ct per bottle and 1,50€ for the case, so it‘s probably 2,30€ per case. Btw for regular size beer cases you get 3,10€ which is 1,50€ for the empty case and 8ct per empty bottle (there are 20 of them in it)
Ok, great to know!
I am also really sure because I buy it sometimes - maybe you tried to return it in a shop that doesn't sell it? Neumarktes Lammsbräu is sold basically in every organic grocery store (like Alnatura) all over Germany.
Fun fact: I grew up near Neumarkt, where the beer comes from. It used to be a local brewery, a family business, but they changed to organic beer very early, like in the early 80s, and now it's sold across the country.
But if the Pfandautomat doesn’t take your bottle it doesn’t always mean that you do not get Pfand. Ask the cashier.
I will do that! There were several bottles I thought for sure it should take but it didn't.
@@kevinmcfall5285 ...and always put in the bottom first. But it's written on a sign on the Pfandautomat, I guess.
@@kevinmcfall5285 Always look out for the Pfand sign picture ... or, as someone else mentioned above, the Mehrwegflaschenpfandetikett! :D
Thanks to you, tat you learn all this about Recycling. You help to save our planet!
In our area of Germany we have only 4 kind of garbage can. And the glasses. The Bio Müll change into Biogas and a a wonderful potting soil
for garden.
You missed the electronic trash, the bulk trash (Sperrmüll), the green trash for the gardening, Pharmacy trash, paint and dangerous liquits...
Wrap the Bio trash in newspapers before throwing it in the bin, that helps...
The reason for all of this is to keep the material 'sort clean' for a better Recycling result.
Great video
Great video
Rechargeable batteries are great! I got fed up with going through pack after pack and then having to recycle them. Switched to rechargeable ones and am super happy with it.
once upon a time i started using rechargeables, but mostly used them for tv remote, computer mouse etc, and then had to recharge them at least once per month and they often (in less than a year) got bad (dripping liquid, lost max charge, etc). after returning to normal batteries *for those purposes* i only need new batteries every 1-3 years, much cheaper and less waste. rechargeables can still be very useful for use in mobile handsets of phones, game controlers, and everything else that either automatically recharges them or uses lots of power (eg which would need new batteries every day or week). for game controllers and similar, people should also think about whether the mobility is worth it or whether to use a wired one instead (if possible).
i also found that batteries that no longer work in one (eg in my remote control that needs the highest voltage; btw: rechargeables usually have lower voltage or an earlier drop in voltage and thus require this frequent charging) can still work for a few weeks or even months in others (eg in my mouse), and thus i cycled them from one to the next when the most critical one needed new ones :-)
but currently i am using a rechargeable trackball (once every 2-3 months, via usb) ...
Rechargeable is def. the way to go!!
@@farcuf where possible and useful: yes ... but there are many applications where it doesn't make sense and then it's not only inconvenient but also causes more costs and more special resources and more pollution than using batteries (or cables), and then it is a clear NO.
@@Anson_AKB rechargeable batteries are great for things where you need to change a normal battery all the time because the device gets a lot of use. Rechargeable batteries are not good for things that discharge very slowly: remote controls, wall clocks or devices you only use very occasionally. Rechargeable batteries will die very quickly in those use cases and create hazardous waste. A normal non rechargeable zinc carbon battery is actually pretty safe to put in the normal garbage but has metals that can be made use of during recycling.
Tip to keep the Biotonne clean:
1.Wash it sometimes straight after they empty it sometimes it’s enough just to rinse it out with water.
2. Keep your daily biomass wrapped in old newspapers.
Good luck 😉
Really enjoy your videos👍
Yes, rinsing is a must, especially in the summer you have to take extra care.
If possible, then keep the lid of the trash can open and put the can in a cool place. The decomposition process of the biomass starts immediately and allows warmth and moisture to develop. If the lid remains closed, the moisture stays inside and condenses on the bin shell and lid, keeping the biomass moist and warm. Warm and moist biomass decomposes faster with corresponding smell. Try to keep the biomass cool and dry.
People have probably already mentioned this but compost needs to be layered. You do a layer Brown leaves on the bottom then a layer of green plant life, then another layer of green topped by brown and then you can put in your then you can put in your compostable materials in an even layer but you need to cover it and not leave it open to the air
Just put your Bio waste bin every once in a while outside with an open lid. If you leave it for maybe 1 hour, all the maggots will be eaten by the birds. This will reduce the smell.
Ahhh, cool! We will try that.
Fabulous! Feed the wildlife!
Super funny and great knowledge! Every german I know loves to drive to the Werkstoffhof on the weekend. Somehow there is a great sense of comradery there. (btw: a great place to meet germans casually.) - I can't wait for part two: "How to recycle electrical appliances".
The Wertstoffhof is definitely crowded on the weekends! I often go first thing in the morning on weekdays after the kids are off to school.
Electrical appliances are next level 😆
@@kevinmcfall5285 Yes! Not having a 9-to-5 really helps to avoid the busy hours ad the recycling station.
hi we use "myTonni Bio- und Mülltonnenstreu" for our Bio-Tonne. can be found on amazon or maybe your local Hardwarestore
In the Frankfurt region we have 4 bins. Waste, bio, paper and recycling. Multiple glass containers and electronics bins within 1km from our house. It's a simple system
in Schleswig Holstein we have Restmüll, yellow and blue,
Nice, that sounds much easier!
Your single use pallets, i would suggest process them to firewood.
Thanks for that cool video. I live in Switzerland and we recycle more or less the same here. I think its a great feeling when your actual trash bag gets smaller and smaller. Now there are even store where you can buy everything without packagin and you just bring your own containers and bags. Its good fun.
For the bio-trash: keep it as dry as possible - that prevents smell. I have a little container in my kitchen where I collect the scraps and let everything dry. With a half closed lid you can empty the liquid down the drain and then when its all dry throw it in the big bin. Grass from mowing helps too to keep things dry in the bin.
We’re very similar in our little corner of Bayern. Our Recyclinghof also has a Grüngut container for lawn clippings and other yard-oriented cuttings. We also have bins for large metal items, small electrical appliances, and Bauschutt which is any stone or cement building type materials (if you’re not renovating your Haus then it’s really only relevant when you break a dish or plate). We have to drive one town away for large appliances or old wood and such when that is needed.
In my region we are allowed to order a second paper recycling bin if your family is big. And paper bins are free of charge! Maybe it's the same in your "Landkreis"? Just ask for it...
Hi Sara and Kevin,
Looks like you've gotten quite the education when it comes to German recycling. 🤯
Here im Kreis Pinneberg (near Hamburg) it feels a little bit more relaxed than your recycling system in Bayern. We basically have 3-4 bins for "Restabfall", "Gelber Sack", "Altpapier" and "Bio". Glas can be thrown away at the "Altglascontainer" and that's it. No need to drive to a Wertstoffhof, everything except glas gets collected from your house. Every bin will be emptied every 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your needs and size of your bin. If you grow up with this system, it's not really something you think about, but I imagine coming from the US, it's quite an experience.
Yes that’s so true - when you grow up this way, it’s just how you live your daily life, no big deal. To us, it’s like a whole other new lifestyle! Good to know it’s easier up in Kreis Pinneberg.
And batteries/light bulbs can be taken to most grocerie and drug stores (e.g. DM).
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife the good part is that you become aware of what happens to the environment if people throw everything together in one garbage container.
@@Reboegga @ = Also at ALDI, LIDL, etc.
@@grandmak. yes!!!
The gods of germaness smile upon you, my friend.
Also non Pfand plastic bottles, the cap and teh bottle are made of different material, they companies that do the recycling are quite happy when they come separated from each other, even if they get dumped in the same container. So for those who want more of the plastic to be recycled this little extra efford of unscrweing and removing the colored plastic parts might help :)
Really informative video this time, and interesting(after reading many comments) to see how differently this topic is handled throughout Germany 🤗
Thank you! ❤️ Yeah it’s so interesting how it’s handled so differently, depending on the Gemeinde.
As an American who's been recycling since my first came home from Kindergarten and asked why we weren't recycling, wow!! So wish the USA took recycling as seriously and as enthusiastically!!!
Thanks Carolyn! Sara talks about how she came home from kindergarten after learning to turn the water off while brushing teeth, and was horrified that her family members left the water on! Funny how experiences like that stick with you for so long.
@@kevinmcfall5285 In the early 1980s we were taught in Germany how to save energy (and resources) with the help of a big campaign started by the federal departement for economic. Most sucessful was an oval sticker in national colors saying "I am energysaver" which one could see on every second car.
Just google "ich bin energiesparer". Memories like you've mentioned... 😊
Umm, okay, the name McFall might not be totally uncommon, but... errr, just out of curiosity, are you, Carolyn, and you, Kevin, related somehow?
Sorry if that was rude or too private.
@@kevinmcfall5285 and the funny thing is in many places Germans save so much water that the water pipes need to get flushed with water from time to time. So Please. DO NOT SAVE WATER in GERMANY. We have enough water here.. BUT DO IT in Southern Europe or in any country which is dry.
5:37 the apple juice have Pfand. The Traube should have it too. But the Heinz Tomaten Ketchup have no Pfand. All different drinks should have Pfand, water, juice and alcohol. You can see on the bottle the Pfand symbol. The Pfand symbol is the can and bottle with the arrow.
I will look more closely!
Juice should not have pfand, schorle should have.
Hard liquor, sparkling wine and wine usually has no deposit on the bottles. But some wine vendors gladly take back the empty bottles after all
There is even more for the Werkstoffhof. There might be Grünschnitt (vegetation), problem stuff (Oil, acids, paint...), electric stuff from TV to cables. CDs. Sometimes there are containers for wood from furniture and metal (iron and other).
I live in Bavaria too and I think you can definitely put all of your plastic and also tetrapack into the yellow sack/ bin. We only have 2 bins, black for restmüll and green for paper. Biomass either goes into the restmüll or we compost it ourselves in our yard. People hardly go to the wertstoffhof here. Only when they have to deposit things like old paint or chemicals of some sort.
In Germany, you give the postman a big tip at Christmas. So maybe it would be nice if you give him a tip (like 20€) cause of all the headache you were causing ;)
Yes! We did give him some nice chocolate a few times.
Are you a Postman yourself? 😉😀
I think Kevin can now work as a recycling consultant ... A side job maybe.
Right?! Helping immigrants learn how to recycle 🤣🚛.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Not only immigrants..... :-)
Totally agreed.
I know that in Bavaria are the most different categories of separating your trash as my mom lives in Füssen. In Northern Germany where I now live and in Western Germany where I grew you regulary have six main categories: Restmüll, Yellow bin for all the packages and plastics, Blue bin for Altpapier, Brown bin or private compost for Biotrash. These are the bins you usally have at home. Beside this you have the containers for glass and the boxes for batteries. Greetings from Fintel in the Lüneburger Heide, Philippe
Ok, the special trash for liquid containers like Tetra is very unique. In all places I have lived in Germany (NRW, Hessen, Bayern, Berlin) the trash was the same: Restmüll, gelber Sack, different glas containers and paper. Other ideas like Bio trash for food and stuff and an orange bin for Sperrmüll (furniture etc.) didn't work out in the end and for various reasons.
and when you go to your first german christmas market (hoppefully at the end of this year) and drink something there (which is a must) then you will get to know another system of Pfand for the mugs.
"Oh mein Gott, er hat 'ne hat eine Tasse!!"
Pfand on mugs for Glühwein? I definitely am excited for Glühwein!
@@kevinmcfall5285 You will find such a deposit system (or "bring your own mug) on all places where beverages are sold in the public. Since less than two weeks the commercial use of single-use plastic mugs is no more allowed in the European Community.
www.tagesschau.de/inland/gesellschaft/verpackung-faq-101.html
I live in a small town near Munich and we had your system until a few years ago. Since then we just have a yellow bin for all "Wertstoffe", also 3 other bins: Bio, Altpapier and Restmüll. So I bring only glas to the Wertstoffhof (and grass after mowing. Where do you put the grass in the US???)
When we lived in Florida we had curb pick up once a week for yard trash, such as tree limbs, grass clippings, etc. Now we live in Berlin, have no yard to maintain and don’t miss it the slightest bit.
Loved your video. I never knew that there were so many categories of trash - here in NRW it is far easier.
However, I had to smile at 15:39 "...aber hier, you put everything together". 😊
A Suggestion for your Biomasse: if you have some space in a corner of your garden: build a Komposthaufen. It is simply a pile for your biomasse where it can decompose slowly. It’s not as nasty as these bins and after a while you have compost soil for your garden and a place for biodiversity. And the best benefit: from a certain point on the pile stops growing. It is pretty common for house owners here to have one.
Next drinking game: have a shot everytime kevin says Wertstoffhof.^^
Right?! 🤣🤣 18 drinks later 🥴🥴
Never seen so many ways of recycling plastic :O I live in another Bundesland in Germany and I guess recycling is just different (=easier) here than it is in Bavaria. So it differs per Bundesland.
Nein, nicht das Bundesland entscheidet, sondern der Stadt-/Landkreis. Es gibt auch in Bayern Kreise mit gelbem Sack oder gelber Tonne, und auch in anderen Bundesländern Kreise, die nicht das DSD beauftragt haben.
There is a symbol on the bottles that you can return to the maschine in the shops. It's like two arrows complimenting each other so they form a circle. Just a tip so you don't have to guess which ones the maschine at the store accepts.
In case of the biomasscontainer. Keep it at the coldest place outside the house. Wrap your biomass in old newspapers. Clean it with water after it was emptied. (Like Peter Schön posted). In our town they empty the biomass in summer every week because of the mess.
Oh dear, you made me laugh so hard! 20 different types of trash and Kevin still being excited about it... 😂
Living in Munich life is a lot easier trashwise, but we don't have space to store the recycling - so every second day (even though we try to avoid plastic) someone has to go to the recycling containers by bike or foot. Really fancy trash-biking! 😉 Our kids hate it, but it's also their job. Luckily we have 4, so they can take turns.
You do a great job adjusting to Germany and keeping the spirit up!
Ah so cool you also have 4 kids! Yeah Kevin got quite excited about TRASH 🤣