To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. In the case of wholesalers, there is an extra step in the chain as he passes this on to individual retailers such as your local kiosk. It's Saturday morning and people are queuingwith bags full of bottles and cans at a supermarket in the German city of Cologne. Upon purchase, you can spot thePfandon the shelves price tag, as it is listed separately from the product price. And is it a model other countries could follow? Donate to the UN Refugee Agencytoday. No, you can return it to any of the return places which we mentioned above. The Schwarz Group, to which the discounter Lidl belongs, now producessingle-use bottles for its own products. It confuses the hell out of people why certain places dont pay Pfand on certain bottles. As a rule of thumb, you can return yourPfandflaschenwhere you bought them. Edited by: Tamsin Walker and Jennifer Collins, When the EU finally committed to banning an array of single-use plastics in March, it became part of a growing plastic-free movement that is seeing similar bans imposed from Vanuatu to Canada and Tanzania. This will print your receipt. In doing so, this reduces the average CO2 emissions per bottle in circulation because fewer new bottles have to be manufactured. So far, so good. The current recycling laws, colloquially known as the Pfandsystem, came into force in 2003 and were modified again 3 years later. Kiosks, Bddchen or Sptis Germany is a country where beer is trendy. Some people collect empty bottles to earn a bit of money. There is no closed loop whereby material canbe converted into a new productindefinitely without losing any of its properties. Get ourFREEguide with 7 actionable hacks to save money while living in Germany. The amount at the bottom is the cash you get back from recycling your bottles. In reality, most major Getrnkemarkt chains will accept more or less anything back because they are big enough and have relationships with pretty much all drinks producers nationwide, even if not locally. How to get rid of your old clothes and shoes in Berlin. Anything other than returning the empties to the place where you purchased them from, with a valid receipt, is based on goodwill from the party you are returning them to. Secondly, I would make all retail outlets larger than a sole-trading kiosk or small general store sell only Mehrwegflaschen, as an acknowledgement to the environmental concerns of one-way plastic bottles and to drive home the original reason to implement such a law in the first place. The likes of Aldi, Lidl, Coca Cola and Pepsi must be coerced into doing what the law intended it to do. 7 days, 7 emails! Such a glass bottlecan be refilled up to 50 times without losing quality, the state-run German Environment Agency (UBA) says. The first, which have producer-set deposit prices ranging from 0.08 to 0.25 ($0.29), canbe reused multiple times and can be made from glass or PET plastic. For example, beer bottles rarely have a Pfand symbol. Therefore we recommend doing your own research before proceeding further with any service or product. Keep your receipt! The Pfand system is a big part of sorting your trash in Germany. Glass bottles in Germany can be reused as many as 50 times. Or specifically, whether they are single-use or multi-use bottles. "It'simpossible to reach a higher rate," Fischer said. Sometimes, there is no way to know. Do not worry, we will not SPAM you. Pfandstands for deposit in German, and it refers to the bottle and can recycling system in Germany. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. These can be used with a bamboo toothbrush, and if you really want to go for it, complemented with a length of all-natural floss. We publishTIPSandGUIDESespecially tailored forEXPATsliving in Germany so you can Live like a Local in Germany. because you genuinely could eat it all. But even solid shampoos and conditioners are becoming easier to get hold of. There are mainly two types of Pfand in Germany. With 16.4billion single-use bottles floodingthe German drinks market every year, the 1.5% that are never taken back can translate into profits of as much as 180 million for retailers. "Before 2003, some 3 billion disposable beverage containers were dumped in the environment every year," Thomas Fischer, head of circular economyat NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH), told DW. Do not worry, we will not SPAM you. Coca-Cola's use of reusable bottlesslipped from 56% to 42% in 2015, according to figures from the DUH. Bottles and cans have a more significant ecological impact than reusable containers because they are less stable plastics that can damage more when recycled. The wholesaler or retailer pays a deposit to the producer. The unofficial Pfandsammler If you leave bottles with deposits next to trash cans, it is essential to know that this is a common practice in Germany and has become an underground system of deposit collectors. Stores must clearly write down if the bottles are single-use (einweg) or reusable ones (mehrweg). If you click these links and purchase a service or a product then we may earn a small commission, without any extra cost to you. But if that's an (understandably) acquired taste too far, it's possible to get hold of minty tooth tabs either loose or in paper bags. This website is my full time job. And for all their hard exterior, they have a soft touch. The Pfand system in Germany is a deposit-based recycling program that encourages people to recycle their plastic bottles. There are two different types of Pfand in Germany. These can be refilled up to 25 times for the plastic variety and up to 50 times for glass. E-book and expat city guides coming soon. Glass bottles can be recycled up to 50 times before they get thrown away, while plastic bottles may only last for around 10-12 recycling. Impressum, How to dispose of a Christmas tree in Berlin. And not a tube or plastic bottle in sight. They don't all smell divine either, but they serve a purpose. Case in point, I bought 3 crates of wonderful Primtor beer back from Czechia and still have the crates stuck in my cellar because nobody will take them. As end customers, we then pay this deposit, or Pfand, to the supermarket, kiosk, Getrnkemarkt or whoever and we get it back when we return the bottles. Single-use bottles, on the other hand, are always sold either loose or plastic wrapped as 6-packs. The drinks manufacturer fills his product, for example, beer or water, into these bottles. Related Guide: How to separate trash in Germany? You can find more information in our data protection declaration. This system helps to reduce waste as it encourages people to recycle their bottles and cans. While this is an option, we recommend using the coupons that come with the machines as it will save on future costs. The process is easy. "Compared to the situation a few years ago, we use up to 70% less virgin PET material," a Lidl spokesperson told DW. Of course, there are strict health regulations for the refilling process. When you buy certain bottles and cans in a supermarket or at a kiosk in Germany, you will pay a deposit(Pfand)on top of the product price. It doesnt matter where you have bought your bottle or can; they can all be recycled at your local supermarket. For 500mL soft drink bottles, the deposit is 0.15, and for 1.5L ones, its 0.25. German consumers religiously return their bottles under the bottle deposit scheme. Keeping clean doesn't have to involve a row of plastic bottles. We scout for highly-rated, modern, and simple German services so expats can make an informed decision. Environmental organizations such as the German NGO Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) criticize this as insufficient. Only the labels and the lid are not made of 100%recycled plastic, they say. Instead, they arereturning them. All Rights Reserved. These liquid soaps and cleaning liquids on the other hand are not for drinking. That's not to say it would taste good or necessarily be nutritious, but it is testimony to the natural nature of many make-your-own potions, lotions and creams. The company joins PepsiCo as one of the world's biggest plastic polluters, foundBreak Free from Plastic, a coalition of NGOs working to reduce plastic waste. When youre a solo expat in Germany, even the simplest tasks seem overwhelming and difficult, especially when it differs from home. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Single-use bottles follow a different path. Visit our blog! Since we are in Germany, things are never simple (no pun intended ), and there are, of course, different types ofPfandsystems for different kinds of bottles. Simple Germany provides English content to help internationals beat German bureaucracy and settle into life in Germany more smoothly. LiveWorkGermany provides in-depth, accurate, real, honest and up-to-date content advising expats in Germany and those seeking to relocate. It tells you if the bottle has a Pfand. The process of washing and sterilising existing bottles is overwhelmingly more environmentally friendly in terms of CO2 output than the production of new, single-use bottles. In addition, material is lost in every recycling process, according to the DUH. #Germany, explained. The information provided on this blog is based on our own experience and in-depth research. What's not to like? Learn on the go with our new app. You can return Pfand bottles at the following places: Beverage stores Since Pfand is a mandatory government-issued refundable deposit on every bottle and can sell in Germany, its always worth getting your money back if youre unhappy with the product. Contact Though forconsumers, thePfandsystem is a simple case of putting empties into a machine, what happens thereafter is a bit more complex. Plastic multi-use bottles in all shapes have a deposit of 15 cents. "If we want to be competitive, we have to offer our drinksin discount stores," Uwe Kleinert, head of sustainability at Coca-Cola Germany, told DW. But customers buying a bottle of cola, let's say, pay the deposit with the VAT included. You can usually find kiosks selling cold beer at lower prices than restaurants or bars but pricier than supermarkets. In many discount supermarket, Coca Cola and Pepsi sell their products in 0.5 litre or 1.25 litre bottles which are single-use. These days, the country boasts a returns rate of above 98%. You can visit any grocery store or gas station to get your deposit back in Germany. Where to claim your Pfand deposit in Germany. This encourages people to return their empty bottles. If you see one of these logos on the bottle, it has a Pfand. The environmental impact of using standard disposable bottles and cans is more significant than using reusable ones. In our articles, we use affiliate links from our affiliate partners. This deposit is then passed on directly to the customer in the form of a surcharge. Berlin now has two shops that sell unpackaged ingredients for making your own cosmetics and cleaning products, and the internet has an endless supply of suggested combinations for soft, sweet-smelling skin. Covering topics such as housing & relocation, dealing with bureaucracy, work & employment, learning German as well as everyday life in Germany through the eyes of an expat & guest bloggers. Live in Germany brings well-researched and unbiased guides for ex-pats living in Germany. They dont have multi-million Euro contracts with Aldi and Lidl that the likes of Coca Cola and Pepsi do, and rely heavily on the Getrnkemarkt wholesalers for their business, most of whom deal in multi-use bottled product. We publish TIPS and GUIDES particularly tailored for EXPATs living in Germany, so you can Live Like a Local in Germany. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. In Berlin, you can leave your empty bottles next to a trash can. When you do your weekly shopping, gather up all the recyclable plastic and glass bottles and soft drink cans you collected. They can, and must, absorb the inconvenience of accepting other outlets bottles. Suppose the recycling machine is not broken/defective, but you only have one other device left. Most places where you buy bottles and cans with the Pf and include a return policy. It covers finding a job in Berlin, getting a residence permit, finding an apartment, and more. (26.04.2019), 2022 Deutsche Welle | These bottles are made up of glass and plastic, and each one has its own set of regulations. Recycling bottles was one of these scary tasks for me when I first moved here. Bottles and cans withoutPfandtypically are: It would be best if you disposed of the milk and juice containers in your houses yellow trash. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. Bring your Pfand receipt to any beverage stores and get your deposit back no questions asked. These bottles are sold to wholesalers or retailers. Well, there are two possibilities lets discuss each of them. Not closed Sundays. You can easily tell this by looking at the label to see if it contains the description PET. It's just a matter of having them with you when needed. Pfand is a system that stands for deposit in German, where you are charged a deposit on top of the price of certain bottles and cans, which is then refunded to you once the bottle is returned empty. Companies that make and fill their own bottles are the ones that profit from single-use emptiesthat aren't returned, said Jrgen Ziegner, head of the ZTG, the German association representing service stations. To return them, they cannot be crushed or without a label. Alternatives are harder to come by in the world of toilet paper and tissues. Disclaimer: Simple Germany refers to helpful services and does not provide a complete market overview. Ecologically they have a bigger impact than multi-use bottles. We are not certified brokers or consultants. Generally, people are more likely to return multi-use bottles because often they are sold in crates, and carry the whopping 3.00+ crate deposit on them (the exact amount depends on the type of product) which makes it worth your while to return. The horizontal white line (left bottle) is a sign that the bottle has been reused. In early 2015, Coca Cola announced that it would over time phase out multi-use bottles in favour of one-time use, citing the high logistics costs of collecting the multi-use bottles and holding free storage space for them. Paper-based drinks cartons are also excluded from the law, even though they are usually coated in plastic. Independent retailers and gas stations lose out here because they pay the 0.25 deposit plus 19% value-added tax to product wholesalers. The label will say Pfand-Glas if the bottle has a Pfand, and it will not say anything else. The total deposit that you make will be deducted from your final receipt. When you buy certain products, you pay a deposit (Pfand) for the container. Expatica helps make your expat journey the experience you've always wanted. Sometimes, it's written directly on the container. We understand the struggle of foreigners in Germany, therefore our aim is to provide a platform, which covers all the important topics for Expats. Doesn't make a lot of sense, and even said supermarkets must be cottoning on, because they are also starting to sell cloth bags for the same purpose. If a business sells Pfand containers, it must accept Pfand returns. When going through the checkout to purchase your groceries, hand this receipt to the cashier. Now, what happens with Mehrwegflaschen is different. This is another anomaly where the law is inconsistent. This is what returns machines look like in most German supermarkets. But how exactly does it work? Other examples are also common though. But here is where they made a real dogs dinner of the German Pfandsystem legislation. We provide online services to make #expat life easier. In Germany, there is a bottle return system. These bottles can still be recycled, but they don't have a deposit. | Mobile version, European legislation on single-use plastic. Single-use containers will be destroyed and recycled. Put your bottles and cans into the round hole at the top, bottom first. If smaller, regional drinks companies are acting responsibly and in doing so they are being disadvantaged, clearly this is not perfect competition, as an economist would understand it to be. Simple Germany is a trademark registered in the European Union. If there is a logo on the label, a significant brewer has likely produced the product. Put in all your bottles, one after the other, until your bag is empty. In real life this means, you can return your bottles at the following places: We hope you have a better understanding of what thePfandsystem in Germany is and how it works. On this basis,discount supermarkets, such as Aldi and Lidl, mostlysell single-use containers, claiming their recycling activities are good for the environment. Every time you buy a bottle of water in a single-use bottle and throw the bottle away, the seller has made an additional 25 cents profit from you. Glass water bottles of 0.75 or 1 litre have a deposit of 15 cents. Even in Germany, environmental groups are pushing for the deposit scheme to be rolled out to include all kinds of glass and carton packaging, such as Tetra Paks. It can be hard to return certain types of bottles. Who profits from this? Glass beer bottles of 0.33 or 0.5 litre of have a deposit of 8 cents. You make their job easier, because they don't need to search inside the trash bin. When you purchase a new bottle, drop the old one off at one of the designated return stations, and receive a refund for your deposit (usually around 10%). Your opinion can help us make it better. The Pfandsystem is a nationwide recycling program in Germany that encourages people to recycle their used plastic and glass drinking bottles. This guide shows you how to relocate to Berlin. Erm, no. Youll usually find it near the entrance to the supermarket. To receive our newsletter and exclusive content, sign up here! When they bought their drinks, the shoppers paid adeposit on top of the cost of the beverage itselfthe so-called Pfand. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. A drinks wholesaler transports it to a sorting facility with a truckload of empties, where it is put with other bottles of the same shape before being taken to a producerthat usesthat particular type of bottle. Between 8 and 25 cents. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. If you can return Einwegflaschen anywhere, but you have to think and plan where you take your Mehrwegs back to, is it really a surprise that consumers are turning their back on the environmentally friendly option? One conseqeuence of the law is that smaller, regional producers, for example of water and fizzy soft drinks, are inherently disadvantaged because they have remained on the path of supplying in mutli-use bottles. It's not as if there are no alternatives. The program offers bottle return stations across the country, and there are usually coupon books for participating stores available at those locations. In Dusseldorf, where we live, we still do it , and we never received a complaint.
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