Germany has reported a 99 per cent recycling rate for used aluminium beverage cans, the highest among the packaging materials tracked in the country and well clear of Europe's overall 76.3 per cent recycling record. An International Aluminium Institute (IAI) study cited in the coverage places aluminium cans at the top of Germany's packaging recycling picture, followed by PET bottles at 95 per cent and glass bottles at 81 per cent.
The result is underpinned by the country's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), widely known as Pfand, which gives empty beverage containers a financial value and makes them easier to return.
From a mandatory deposit to a nationwide system
Germany's current single-use beverage deposit system was built in stages. The mandatory deposit requirement was decided in 2003. In 2005, retailers and the drinks industry jointly established Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH (DPG) to develop a standardised framework for implementing the requirement.
The nationwide DPG system for single-use beverage packaging came into operation in May 2006, supported by an extended take-back obligation that required the new arrangements to be in place from May 1 that year. The goal was to create an efficient system with common standards while allowing retailers, drinks companies and other market participants to manage their respective roles.
Under the scheme, consumers pay a EUR 0.25 (USD 0.28) deposit on eligible single-use beverage containers and recover it when they return the empty packaging at an accepted collection point. Retail take-back, reverse-vending machines and standardised container identification have helped make returns part of routine shopping.
According to DPG material cited in the coverage, the system now handles around 20 billion containers annually, making it the largest one-way deposit-return system in the European Union. More than 1,000 companies are affiliated with the system as participants and partners.
How DRS strengthens aluminium recycling
For the aluminium industry, the scheme's main advantage is not simply the number of cans returned. It is the creation of a reliable, dedicated stream of used beverage cans that can enter organised collection and recycling channels instead of being lost in mixed waste.
The EUR 0.25 refund gives consumers a direct financial reason to return containers. Retail take-back and reverse-vending machines make the process convenient, while container recognition and standardised identification help distinguish eligible packaging and direct materials into separate collection streams.
Germany's system therefore provides a substantial and recurring flow of packaging for recovery, and the refundable deposit can help limit material loss by keeping eligible containers out of ordinary disposal routes.
Recycling capacity behind the collection system
Germany's high collection performance sits alongside a sizeable recycled aluminium industry. The supplied material estimates national recycled aluminium capacity at around 700,000–720,000 tonnes annually.
Novelis operates its Nachterstedt facility in Germany, described in the supplied material as the world's largest aluminium recycling facility, with capacity to process up to 400,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap annually. Hydro-owned WMR Recycling GmbH in Dormagen supplies technology-driven sorting equipment and can sort 36,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap per year, using X-ray transmission and other sorting technologies. Trimet Aluminium SE has also expanded its Gelsenkirchen recycling facility, increasing production capacity by 20 per cent to 80,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium.
These operations highlight the connection between collection and industrial recovery: DRS brings containers into organised channels, while sorting and recycling facilities prepare the recovered metal for further use. Sorting and recycling therefore form a complementary relationship in Germany's aluminium can recycling story.
Two decades of DRS
Germany marked 20 years of its nationwide one-way deposit scheme at anniversary celebrations in Berlin on June 17, 2026. The European Commission and Germany's Federal Environment Ministry highlighted the scheme's contribution to the circular economy.
EU Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall praised the system's role in making packaging returns a routine part of everyday life, saying that all packaging — whether glass bottles, plastic bottles or aluminium cans — should be sent for recycling in order to increase efficiency, reduce waste and protect the environment. Antje von Broock, Head of the Department for Circular Economy, Air Pollution Control and Chemical Safety at the Federal Environment Ministry, said the deposit-refund system makes a very important contribution to the circular economy today.
DPG Managing Director Susanne Kürschner pointed to the system's development over time, noting that the organisation and its partners had maintained its stability while making it more efficient — resilient, future-proof and scalable.
Germany's DRS also operates alongside broader packaging collection arrangements, including household sorting through the Dual System, commonly associated with the Grüner Punkt. The deposit scheme provides a dedicated route for eligible single-use beverage containers, while other packaging remains subject to the relevant collection and compliance arrangements.
As Europe looks to strengthen packaging circularity, Germany's two-decade record offers a practical example of how collection systems can connect consumer behaviour with aluminium can recycling.