Waste collection in Germany, explained in English

Find your collection dates

1. 1

   Enter your postcode

   Open muellklar.de/termine and type your postcode (5 digits) or town into the field „Postleitzahl oder Ort“.

2. 2

   Choose your address

   Pick your waste company and your street. Then you see all dates („Termine“) for your address.

3. 3

   Get a reminder

   Tap „Kalender abonnieren“ to add the dates to your phone calendar, or „Per E-Mail erinnern“ to get an e-mail the evening before.

Which bin is for what?

Colours can differ a little from town to town. Your waste company has the final word.

Restmüll

Residual waste (grey or black bin): everything that does not fit elsewhere, for example nappies, vacuum cleaner bags, ash.

Biotonne

Organic waste (brown bin): food scraps, coffee grounds, fruit peel, garden waste. No plastic bags.

Papier

Paper (blue bin): paper, cardboard, newspapers. Flatten boxes.

Gelber Sack / Gelbe Tonne

Packaging (yellow bag or bin): plastic, metal and drink cartons, empty but not washed.

Altglas

Glass (public containers): bottles and jars sorted by colour, white, green and brown. Usually not on Sundays and not late in the evening.

Sperrmüll

Bulky waste: furniture and large items. Book a pickup with your waste company or take them to a recycling centre.

Schadstoffe

Hazardous waste: batteries, paint, chemicals, energy saving bulbs. Take them to a recycling centre or the mobile collection.

Good to know

• Put the bin out the evening before or early in the morning on the collection day, with the lid closed.
• Around public holidays collections often move by a day. The dates on Müllklar already include this.
• Bottles and cans marked „Pfand“ (deposit) go back to the shop, and you get money back.
• Not sure where something goes? The Abfall-ABC (in German) lists more than 100 items, and recycling centres near you are under „Wertstoffhöfe“.