Status: 15.01.2024, 13:30 PM
By: Andrea Stettner
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Incorrect waste separation makes it difficult to recycle valuable raw materials such as wood or crude oil. Some misconceptions are particularly persistent.
According to NABU, around 40 million tonnes of household waste are generated in Germany every year, be it paper, glass or residual waste. If you can't avoid waste, you should at least separate it properly so that the waste can be optimally recycled. This not only reduces the consumption of valuable resources, such as wood or oil, but also reduces energy consumption. However, proper waste separation is not so easy, especially since there are different requirements from municipality to municipality. It is understandable that mistakes happen here. In addition, there are numerous myths that circulate due to a lack of knowledge about the processing processes. We have compiled some of the most common misconceptions below.
1. Waste glass doesn't have to be separated by color – it ends up being thrown together anyway
If you separate waste correctly, you help to ensure that valuable raw materials can be recycled. © Weingartner photo/imago
In the case of waste glass, there is a persistent rumour that in the end all the glasses and bottles from the containers end up together on a truck – and that separating them by colour is therefore pointless. But that's not true, as waste companies confirm on the blog wir-lieben-recyclling.de. The used glass is also transported separately by colour on the trucks. This is also important, because "this is the only way to produce high-quality new bottles and jars from the used glass," according to the blog. That's why it's still important to put used glass in the right containers for white, brown and green glass.
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2. CDs and DVDs belong in the yellow bag
Streaming services for music and film have made CDs and DVDs obsolete virtually overnight. As a result, many are gradually sorting out their collections. Unfortunately, the discarded discs and their plastic sleeves tend to end up in the yellow bag or in the yellow bin – where they don't belong. Strictly speaking, only lightweight packaging is allowed in the yellow collection containers. Instead, you should take your CD, DVD, and Blu-ray collections to the recycling center or to an electronics store that will receive them.
3. Beverage cartons can be easily recycled
Although producers of beverage cartons often advertise their product as "environmentally friendly", this is not the case, according to the German Environmental Aid (DUH). In fact, the environmental footprint of beverage cartons has steadily deteriorated over the past 10 years, partly because they contain more and more plastics, according to DUH. Only a little more than a third of the recyclable materials in a beverage carton can actually be recycled. The beverage cartons are disposed of correctly in the yellow bag or in the yellow bin – and not in the residual waste.