Germany reports a 99 per cent recycling rate for used aluminium beverage cans, the highest among the packaging streams tracked in an International Aluminium Institute (IAI) study, which puts PET bottle recycling at 95 per cent and glass bottle recycling at 81 per cent. Europe's overall aluminium can recycling figure stands at 76.3 per cent. Behind the German result is a deposit return scheme (DRS), widely known as Pfand.
From a mandatory deposit to a nationwide system
The scheme was built in stages. The mandatory deposit requirement was decided in 2003. Two years later, 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.
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 help make returns part of routine shopping.
According to supplied DPG material, the system now handles around 20 billion containers a year, making it the largest one-way deposit-return system in the European Union, with more than 1,000 affiliated companies as participants and partners.
How the scheme strengthens aluminium recycling
For the aluminium industry, the main effect is not only the number of cans returned. The deposit creates a dedicated stream of used beverage cans that can enter organised collection and recycling channels instead of being lost in mixed waste. The refundable deposit gives consumers a direct financial reason to bring containers back, while retail take-back and reverse-vending machines make the process convenient. Container recognition and standardised identification help separate eligible packaging into distinct collection streams.
Industrial recovery capacity
Germany's collection performance sits alongside a sizeable recycled aluminium industry. Supplied material estimates national recycled aluminium capacity at around 700,000–720,000 tonnes a year. Among the operators:
- Novelis runs its Nachterstedt facility, 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 a year, using X-ray transmission and other sorting technologies.
- Trimet Aluminium SE has expanded its Gelsenkirchen recycling facility, raising production capacity by 20 per cent to 80,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium.
These operations link collection to industrial recovery: the DRS brings containers into organised channels, and sorting and recycling facilities prepare the recovered metal for further use.
Two decades of DRS
The scheme's 20-year milestone was marked 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 said all packaging — glass bottles, plastic bottles or aluminium cans — should be sent for recycling 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 said the organisation and its partners had maintained the system's stability while making it more efficient, resilient, future-proof and scalable.
The DRS also operates alongside broader packaging collection arrangements, including household sorting through the Dual System, commonly associated with the Grüner Punkt. The deposit route covers eligible single-use beverage containers, while other packaging remains subject to the relevant collection and compliance arrangements.