Recycling in Germany vs. USA 🤯 🇩🇪 It's Totally Different and Better Here!

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Did you guys see how many different categories we have to sort our trash here in Southern Bavaria? We have been told it's different in other parts of Germany. Also, it must be noted that we live in a very small town, so that changes the recycling resources we have here. So please make sure to tell us what it's like in your town/Kreis/Bundesland so we can get the complete picture of what it's like here in Germany!

[@helfgott1]

Same. I do think that in Germany the children are teaching the elder generation by thinking green. And I am proud of these green warriors 👍👍👍

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

@@helfgott1 yes that’s so awesome! Our kids are learning, too.

[@annaluisevogler9175]

Here in Bremen / state of Bremen there are yellow bags. Everything that is recycled can go into it. It is sorted by the company. But we pay fees for this. The bags are picked up every 2 weeks. I try to use plastic as little as possible. Nets for unpacked vegetables save a lot. Instead of Tetrapack there are now cardboard milk cartons. They are disposed of in the paper.

[@althelas]

If you want to reduce the ammount of plastic trash, try to fiind shops called "Nimm's Lose" or packaging free shops. You can bring your own containers to fill them up with flour, pasta, Rice, nuts, cereals etc. We have one in Rosenheim and when you come up to us, I show it to youo. Btw, the way of recycling differs from district to district. We in Rosenheim have the containers all over the place for the different glass, paper, compost and everything plastic and tin cans. If you buy a lot of water, lemonade or juices, try to find a Getränkemarkt and get everything from there. You buy everything in their boxes (like the bierkiste) and you bring everything back, the boxes are much easier to store and you don't have the hassle of bringing everything to the store to check if the machine takes it. Composting or biomass are two different things. Biomass is every food that can not be composted, like cooked food or tea bags, etc. That stuff is used to make energy. Everything that does not compost in 4 weeks goes into the bio mass, with the exception of the biodegradable packing peanuts. I had a box of biodegradable (compostable) packing peanuts and was not sure if those can be tossed into the compost and called our Inviroment office in the city hall and they told me that those go into the normal trash. Our system can be complicated but you get used to it eventually. If your paper bin is full before they come to collect it, take a big cardbord box for the rest and put it beside the bin on collection day, they will pick it up tooas long as everything is cut down and pressed flat.

[@AP-RSI]

Well, for us in BW (Karlsruhe) it is usually much easier. Although that often differs from city to city or municipality always something, but so complicated I have not yet experienced. Even at the recycling center with us it is not so cumbersome!

[@reinhold61]

You will get the award for the best recycler of 2021 and a german citizenship on top ... :-)

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

🤣🤣🚛🚛 so awesome!

[@christineschonmayr1247]

With those recycling skills you could get the Austrian citizenship as well. 😉 We have the same categories at our Altstoffsammelzentrum, but we are going to get a yellow bag in 2022.

[@ft6637]

Usually you can put the elastic plastic, thin cans, milk containers etc into the gelbe Tonne / gelber Sack as well. Usually nobody has to go to the Recycling center except he has a lot of stufd to get rid off... Glas containers are at multiple other locations and batteries you can return in the supermarket as well.

[@sabine086]

Rechargeable batteries are great! I got fed up with going through pack after pack and then having to recycle them. Switched to rechargeable ones and am super happy with it.

[@Anson_AKB]

once upon a time i started using rechargeables, but mostly used them for tv remote, computer mouse etc, and then had to recharge them at least once per month and they often (in less than a year) got bad (dripping liquid, lost max charge, etc). after returning to normal batteries *for those purposes* i only need new batteries every 1-3 years, much cheaper and less waste. rechargeables can still be very useful for use in mobile handsets of phones, game controlers, and everything else that either automatically recharges them or uses lots of power (eg which would need new batteries every day or week). for game controllers and similar, people should also think about whether the mobility is worth it or whether to use a wired one instead (if possible). i also found that batteries that no longer work in one (eg in my remote control that needs the highest voltage; btw: rechargeables usually have lower voltage or an earlier drop in voltage and thus require this frequent charging) can still work for a few weeks or even months in others (eg in my mouse), and thus i cycled them from one to the next when the most critical one needed new ones :-) but currently i am using a rechargeable trackball (once every 2-3 months, via usb) ...

[@farcuf]

Rechargeable is def. the way to go!!

[@Anson_AKB]

@@farcuf where possible and useful: yes ... but there are many applications where it doesn't make sense and then it's not only inconvenient but also causes more costs and more special resources and more pollution than using batteries (or cables), and then it is a clear NO.

[@mfkman]

@@Anson_AKB rechargeable batteries are great for things where you need to change a normal battery all the time because the device gets a lot of use. Rechargeable batteries are not good for things that discharge very slowly: remote controls, wall clocks or devices you only use very occasionally. Rechargeable batteries will die very quickly in those use cases and create hazardous waste. A normal non rechargeable zinc carbon battery is actually pretty safe to put in the normal garbage but has metals that can be made use of during recycling.

[@Anna-ul6wm]

Not Germany, but a part of Austria (Vorarlberg, maybe you've heard of it) just to the Southwest of Bavaria. We have Restmüll (residual waste), Plastikmüll (gelbe Tonne/yellow bin), Weißglas, Buntglas, Metall and Biomüll, but at our house we have a Kompost, where we put our vegetable, fruit and even leaves and small branches of trees. We do have Pfand, but that's just for beer an some other alkoholic beverages and I think I've seen it a few weeks ago on a glass milk bottle.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Germany and Austria do seem to have many similar things, at least from the comments we receive here.

[@GoleoGohlix]

If you get a token with your drink the Pfand is normally a lot higher than the Pfand you get at the supermarket. Often you have Pfand on your glasses or plates too. So it’s like the bottle has -,15€ Pfand by law, but at this restaurant they give you 2€ back when you return it with the token, also often called „Pfandmarke“.

[@petramueden7170]

I live in Rheinland Pfalz and we have yellow plastic bags to put all kind of plastic , tins and foil in. It's a thing every Kreis does different.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Right. We live in the complicated Kreis! 😜

[@tonguepiercing]

There is a different circuit for used cars, tires, electronics, ‘white electronics’ (like washing machines), and wood.

[@hape3862]

You are real experts it seems. I'm here in Augsburg and have never separated so meticulously. We have just one yellow bin for all recycling plastic and metals. Glas, Paper, Bio and Restmüll are the same as for you though. Even our Wertstoffhof doesn't provide so many options. I'd recommend to purchase a set of rechargeable batteries, it prevents a lot of waste. Oh, and fun fact: There are NO landfills for domestic waste in Germany (and parts of Europe as well) anymore!!! (Restmüll is burnt for energy.) The only landfills left take in only building rubble (without wood and steel rebars), and that is to change as well as rubble gets recycled more and more into new concrete and asphalt. Why don't you save the wooden pallets for winter time to burn them in your oven?

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Oh that’s great to hear it’s easier for you.

[@witty2u]

I would call your Bürgeramt (Rathaus) and ask about the yellow bin. 🙂

[@juricarmichael2534]

Hi. Beer cans and the 1,5l PET bottles (here Apfelschorle) are worth 0,25€ each at the machine (Einwegpfand). And Mehrwegpfand is between 0,08 and 0,15€. Batteries, every place selling them has to take empty ones back. In Hessen we have paper, bio, green dot/yellow bag and rest at the house. Glas and textile/shoes containers at different places in town. So you recycle more detailed then we do.👍🙂 Biotonne: NO sun, Katzenstreu/cat litter, Gartenkalk/ garden lime (gloves/Handschuhe) or Sägespäne/sawdust might help agsinst the smell. You can safe about 70€ per year using 80l Restmüll instead of 120l, but that might be a bit stressfull. The oven behind you is deko / working? Maybe burn pallets in or start your grill with? I think the point is not to twist and bend yourself to become german. You just should feel good when you live in germany. And i hope that is the case. Bye

[@akl9354]

Oh wait! Of the first bottles you showed, the one with the green etiquette should also be a "Pfandflasche"!☝ Where the thicker ones are "Mehrweg" some of the thinner ones are "Einweg" these are the ones you can feed to the machines at Aldi or Lidl 😜

[@milanas.4666]

Ein sehr interessantes, unterhaltsames Video. Ihr seid als Familie große Klasse. PS: ich habe auch ein Abo dagelassen. Liebe Grüße

[@Jeyshara]

Where you live, that kind of plastic recycling is unique, even for Germany. Most places in Germany have a yellow bin or yellow garbage bag for all the plastic and metal cans. You only drive to the recycling center / wertstoffhof, if you have way more, then you can throw away the normal way. Like the paper - we can simply place additional paper next to our paper bin when it gets taken away

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

I live in Leipzig so you can even throw small electronics like a broken hair dryer into the Gelbe Tonne. They just have a different system here and call it Gelbe Tonne +.

[@Rainerjgs]

Bayern macht es - wie so oft - sehr viel besser als alle anderen Bundesländer! Es lebe der Freistaat, es leben das föderale System, es lebe unser vorbildliches, liebenswertes Deutschland, das seit vielen Jahren mit großem Abstand beliebteste Land der Welt!

[@technocracynow9339]

@@Rainerjgs Bayern ist für mich Abfall.

[@avinci3116]

Good point it generally differed locally. But things like Pfand and gelbe Tonne or gelber Sack (DSD Produkte) are standard in whole Germany. Just well west people call it gelber Sack or gelbe Tonne and some may use different Colours/ Tonnen

[@kaleigh4081]

They're not standard here in Bavaria and I'm very glad. I often see cities littered with the yellow sacks everywhere. It looks terrible.

[@schumifannreins295]

Don't worry, there's hardly a German who does everything a 100% right. Just try your best. E.g. my house does not have a Biotonne, so this goes into Restmüll.

[@pinkvogon9639]

In my hometown it is even prohibited by regulation (with fine) to put organic waste into the Restmülltonne. So, it not even depends on states, but also by county/city.

[@cyberiankorninger1025]

Herr Wachtmeister, ja es war dieser Kommentar bitte.

[@tsukikoamagiri]

It doesn't have a Biotonne? Oof. On the other hand, people at our place still dump small *plastic bags* filled with biological waste in there from time to time even though it specifically states no bag of any kind should be in there. Which results in extra costs for the community.

[@marenslife8181]

And for batteries: every store that sells batteries HAS to take back old batteries! It’s mostly small green containers at the checkout.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Ah so good to know!

[@TheIncredible1984]

also i would recommend buying a battery recharger and only buy rechargable batteries (Akkus) so you have no more gargabe from old batteries and save money. Makes especialy sense in a big family

[@formerlyinpragur4736]

Also you forgot ANOTHER category: the donation bins for used clothes, shoes, bedclothes and used glasses in particular reading glasses. But check before, many places organize children clothes swap fairs, maybe there is one in your place or close by I agree with TheIncredible1984! Even more, buy a solar battery charger and a battery charge tester, and put the kids to do the charging job! they will love it! (if they do not charge, then they cannot play...) Another question, if you take magazines to the AltPapier (like Der Spiegel or TV guide or similar things) do you take out the staples? If not you should do it, and put the staples on the metal container. Ordnung über alles!!! And remember the yogurt metal lid to one container and the yogurt plastic to another. In East Germany the recycling was even more intense, even the hair cuts from the Frisseurs had to be recycled. And there was a joke: By law, every enterprise had to have a recycling plan, but every year one enterprise always got a penalty fee for not doing so: the toilet paper combine. But I am sure that the Germans will find a way to do so.

[@swanpride]

@@formerlyinpragur4736 There are also organisations which take old used stuff (clothes, but also games, books, and whatever else people might need) and sell them in special charity shops where only low income people are allowed to shop.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I wish they had that in America!

[@sarania3364]

To be honest, i am German and i didn't even know that much about recycling and Trash in Germany. You are so awsome in trying to do everything right.

[@NALFVLOGS]

thanks for the shoutout guys! you're well on your way to becoming recycling masters!

[@Xoron]

About the green and brown glass: If you are unsure put it in the green container since green glass can be recycled from non-pure Altglas. Brown glass needs to be relatively pure brown glass in order to be recyclable into new brown glassware. This also means that other colours like blue glass goes into the green container.

[@Kazuya720]

Cool, didn't know that. This drives me always craczy, also... I have a red-green-sight weakness ... -_-

[@juliebrooke6099]

That’s interesting because here in the U.K. we are told to put any coloured glass we are unsure about into the brown glass container. Also if the clear or green glass containers are full you can put everything in with the brown glass.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Ok, thanks for the tip! I have had some blue glass too.

[@Torfmoos]

Green and brown glass has his colour fron iron oxid. So it s relative easy to turn the colour by add or reduce the iron (Fe2/Fe3). Clear glass has non of it so it s importend to be sepetated.

[@beageler]

I learned that the other way around, to put anything one isn't sure about into the brown glass container.

[@Blumenkatze]

WTF? I live in northern Germany and we only have bins for paper (blue), "der grüne Punkt" (mostly all kind of packaging) (yellow), organic stuff (brown), residual waste (grey or black), glas and the deposite machines in the stores. The fruit containers, plastic packaging, tetra packs ... we dispose it all in one bin (the yellow one). We only go to the recycling center if we have larger items such as bulky waste or garden waste. But bulky waste can also be picked up from home free of charge.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I know! It is much harder for is here.

[@1Naenie1]

I think Bavaria has to do everything a little.. Extra^^

[@Zimtbiss1]

Ja, in Berlin auch so.

[@andreas7944]

The rules are made by the Landkreis. They differ very strongly. In Böblingen you can bring in your trash to the Wertstoffhof and storting is an absolutly nightmare. It is absolutly insane. In Karlsruhe you are not supposed to bring it in. The yellow bin is supposed to be used. And in Ludwigsburg they only differ in the form like flat, rolls and Kubes. The real sorting is done by machines there.

[@patriciamillin1977]

Same here.

[@marenslife8181]

Die dünnen Plastikflaschen haben oft 25cent Pfand! Also nicht einfach wegschmeißen!!! And I think you recycle way more than I do and I’m German 🙈 I have to rethink what I’m doing daily in my kitchen 😉

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

🤣🤣😜 Too funny! Well now we feel validated in how much work this has been!

[@swanpride]

Though naturally ideally you don't even buy them at all. Instead you buy your drinks at a proper Getränkehalle in proper "Mehrwegflaschen", meaning you bring back the empty bottles and they get reused. Sadly since the "Einwegpfand" has been introduced, the use of disposable plastic has risen, even though the Mehrweg-System is preferable due to less waste.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Ok! I will be more vigilant for the Pfand plastic bottles!

[@Andi1878]

@@kevinmcfall5285 @Tek Mehrweg plastic (like Coke or Fanta) are in fact 0,15€ and glass (beer etc) 0,08€. Einweg plastic bottles with the official "Pfandlogo" is where the money is... 🤣

[@Baccatube79]

@@kevinmcfall5285 there is that black and white symbol on the plastic bottles that's being recognised by the return machine scanner. If that's on it, the bottle is worth 25ct.

[@ronaldchieron3416]

A typical german word: "Entsorgen" which means disposal but literally translates to "getting rid of worry". So it is satisfying to take a tour to the Wertstoffhof, because you have to worry less afterwards.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

What a cool literal translation for disposal!

[@xZimblx]

I'm German and I've never thought about it that way. 😅👍

[@TrueCyprien]

That's actually what "entsorgen" originally meant, but it went out of use until it was "reinvented" as the opposite of "besorgen" (getting something).

[@andreaseufinger4422]

Correct. And at the beginning "entsorgen" was used for dangerous disposal like poison or radioactive stuff. That's why the "getting rid of worry" or maybe "getting rid of responsability" makes sense.

[@marcomobson]

@@TrueCyprien "Besorgen" ist also das Zulegen von Sorgen?! 🙈😂

[@rizzo170980]

Wow. This is what i call fully germanized. You should get an Award for your efforts. If we all would recycle like this the world would be a nicer place.

[@mhmannn]

I never thought I'd enjoy 24 minutes of recycling explained as much as I did this one.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Crazy, eh?!?

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

The way Kevin says it all with a smile and a giggle makes it better!

[@milanas.4666]

Also, wir dürfen keine Fleischreste in die Biotonne entsorgen!!!

[@S16E1]

7:22 normaly you Drink the Beer put the empty bottles back in the case you brought them in and return the entire case with all bottles in one go

[@kevinmcfall5285]

We actually have not bought a case of beer yet. That Kiste was a gift.

[@Henning_Rech]

@@kevinmcfall5285 It is Kasten, not Kiste. And isn't it crate in English?

[@siggi383]

@@Henning_Rech What? Where I live you can say Kiste as well. Kiste Bier or Kasten Bier, does not matter.

[@drea3001]

You can bring that Lammsbräu Kiste back to a shop which also sells them. They should actually take it back. Also the bottles in it. For this special types of bottles and Kisten it is sometimes hard to find a shop that takes it back.

[@runnerfive4479]

Yes, the store generally has to take back what it sells. So the Lammsbräu bottles probably had a deposit but the store did not take them because they are not sold in that particular store... Yes, I know. Way to be complicated! But that's also why they tell you it is a Pfandflasche at the Alm: If you finish it there and then you can bringt the bottle back inside and they have to take it back and give you back your deposit. And the worst thing is: after you have figured it all out, if you move to another municipality, the rules might be totally different! So annoying! Many municipalities also publish little booklets in various languages explaining the system in detail, you can probably pick one up somewhere in the Bürgerbüro/Rathaus.

[@bluetickbeagles116]

I visited Germany two years ago and everything there made sense. The culture is much more structured and obeyed rules more respectively than the US, and I loved it. I would love to expat there someday.

[@thomask5434]

Each to their own i guess. I know americans who saw the same behavior as literal slavery. I don`t know. Following at least some guidelines that benefit all is called being "not an asshole" i would say. Sometimes american behavior for me is really strange, although iam part american and lived there for a year.

[@mchobbit2951]

I laughed so hard when Kevin talked about not knowing if the bottle was brown or green. That's so so German. It's like someone made a mistake and he was supposed to have been born German to begin with. As we'd say "An ihm ist ein Deutscher verloren gegangen".

[@lillibethm4747]

Yes, he is an engineer. Structured thinking....

[@H8MACHINE1]

I remember when that "Recyclemania" started in the late 80´s early 90´s and as a Kid which i was at this Time i found it exciting. For now looking backward it was a great Step to keep the Space much cleaner then it was before. Now it feels absolutely normal to recycle my Trash. Sorry my English, it´s been a long Time to speak or write English but your Channel is so good to refresh my Skills.

[@sisuguillam5109]

The thinner plastic bottles (single use) should have Pfand on it as well. You are doing really well explaining all of this!

[@MsJojo1910]

@flomoe Richtig :-)

[@wiebkewanderlust2880]

Most of the thinner drinks bottles (really only except juice) and also all drinks cans carry Einweg-Pfand, which is 25 cents and therefore quite a bit higher than the Mehrweg-Pfand of 8 or 15 cents. You have been throwing money in the trash. Take them back to a store instead - often you can use the same machine for returning Einweg and Mehrweg bottles.

[@philippschmidt4053]

@@MsJojo1910 wenn das Getränk in der einwegflasche Kohlensäure enthält, so ist die Flasche pfandpflichtig

[@animeterror]

@@philippschmidt4053 Das stimmt nicht so ganz nur Fruchtsäfte haben keinen Pfand. Eistee z.B. hat auch Pfand oder Stilles Wasser ebenfalls, die Aussage stimmt nicht!!

[@philippschmidt4053]

@@animeterror Diese Diskrepanz gab es schon seit der Einführung des Pflichtpfands, war aber die Grundlage für den Unterschied.

[@Encharun]

Fun fact: "Kiste" could be used for the word "coffin" in a funny or slangy way.

[@sabinedalianis2629]

It can also be a slang word for your behind, your PoPo

[@kevinmcfall5285]

That is funny it can mean coffin too!

[@peterkoller3761]

..und auch "Zyste" hat dieselbe Etymologie.

[@sonntagskindlein]

@@kevinmcfall5285 Plus also bed. „in die Kiste steigen“ - go to bed to usually have sex. „in die Kiste fahren“ - end up in a coffin.

[@tinytinky9975]

In former times the carpenters produced coffins and Kisten and wardrobes. It's all the same stuff. Therefore they used the same word for all this things, too.

[@e-r-d-l-i-n-g]

17:09 Landfills are widely a thing of a long gone past in Germany. The 'Restmüll' (residual waste) usually goes to a 'Müllverbrennungsanlage' (waste incineration plant) where it gets incinerated and they make energy out of it. So one reason for sorting all recyclable stuff out is to prevent that precious recyclable material just gets incinerated

[@hansmuller3604]

they do so much Mülltrennung in germany that one of the Müllverbrennungsanlagen in Munich had to close due to lack of garbage

[@aphextwin5712]

Same here in Switzerland in regard to waste incineration, and because of that there is a category of stuff that is impossible to incinerate and is neither toxic nor valuable (ceramics and ‘non-food glass’ like broken picture frames, mirrors etc.) called ‘Grubengut’ that actually still goes to landfills and is thus collected separately, not going into ‘Restmüll’. If you were to fed it into an incinerator, it would just add to the ashes which have to be deposited more carefully than the Grubengut and it would reduce the heat generated from waste incineration as well as taking up capacity in the incinerator. Similar reasons apply to biomass, as the mixture coming from households is often wet which reduces the heat output from incineration. Fermentation and composting can be used to extract energy in the more useful form of biogas, keeping part of the carbon in it in solid form (instead of converting all into CO2 as incineration does) and probably makes waste handling easier by keeping everything that can decay on its own in its own separate feed.

[@grandmak.]

I've just decided you deserve a degree in recycling - and a medal. Congratulations !

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

🤣🤣🤣 Kevin’s gonna love your comment!

[@annaluisevogler9175]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife his New titel: Kevin the Master of Recycling 👑

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

@@annaluisevogler9175 yes!

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Thanks!

[@kevinmcfall5285]

It took a while to learn but it isn't so hard now.

[@der7tezwerg921]

That was definitely a masterclass in recycology. Very well done, Kevin. ;)

[@100100freak]

Great job, you guys recycle better than anyone I know. Certainly much better than myself^^

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

🤣🤣 poor Kevin!

[@sisuguillam5109]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife he is doing such a great job!

[@amikino100]

True

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Thanks!

[@AtoZenLife]

And a cat

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Peanut appreciates your support! 🐱

[@JenLa8]

I‘m touched and concerned at the same time… touched because of your interest and efforts and concerned about my life😂 I‘m a 44 year old German mom living in Stuttgart, have also lived in 3 other countries, and have only ever separated into: 1. Gelber Sack (all plastic, packaging etc) 2. Paper/cardboard etc 3. Restmüll (literally the rest of your garbage😄) 4. compost (I only use it for gardening stuff though..leaves etc) 5. glass and batteries… collect those for quite a long time and then just bringthem round the corner I have never been to a „Wertstoffhof“🙄😃 So don‘t worry too much…doing really great!

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Oh really! I think things are quite different here in our town than they are in other places in Germany. In our town, everyone we know goes to the Wertstofhof on a regular basis and we have no Gelber sak and must sort our own plastic.

[@lillibethm4747]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife It's because she lives in a big city. There they don't seperate so much. But that's not good for the environment. Better to learn the rules like you did. Once you got it, you do it automatically without thinking a lot. Only bothers you in the beginning. XDD

[@uNiandstrize]

Beer crates are always multiuse. For crates like yours, you might have to return them where you bought them since others might not accept that special brand. Breweries are also having a hard time getting their crates back and running shortages due to more and more people building bars, tables, beds, sofas out of beer crates.

[@anni1773]

In Lower Saxony we have Bio, Paper, Yellow (the green button) and Rest. But your recycling is very complicated and I‘m sure nearly nobody does it so special and correctly like you.

[@Inga147]

Excactly the same here in Hessen where I live.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I am trying my best!

[@ullakroger7866]

Ja, hier in Niedersachsen haben wir auch den gelben Sack. Abholung 1x wöchentlich. Oder natürlich eine gelbe Tonne.

[@anni1773]

@@ullakroger7866 ich kenne es aus Hannover auch, dass wir blauen Säcke für Papier und die normalen gelbe Säcke hatten. Die schwarzen Säcke wurden reglementiert. Die blauen Papiersäcke kosteten dann was. Aber es wurde öfter geleert. Hier in Ostfriesland wird alles außer Bio nur alle 4 Wochen geleert. Das ist echt selten.

[@niwa_s]

Same in Berlin. Though you forgot to mention the glass which as far as I'm aware is done everywhere.

[@anni1773]

But if the Pfandautomat doesn’t take your bottle it doesn’t always mean that you do not get Pfand. Ask the cashier.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I will do that! There were several bottles I thought for sure it should take but it didn't.

[@petereggers7603]

@@kevinmcfall5285 ...and always put in the bottom first. But it's written on a sign on the Pfandautomat, I guess.

[@roesi1985]

@@kevinmcfall5285 Always look out for the Pfand sign picture ... or, as someone else mentioned above, the Mehrwegflaschenpfandetikett! :D

[@salomewild6612]

Tip for your bio trash can: wash it after it is emptied next time with Water, until it is clean. Then take a piece of wood and lay it under the Deckel to keep it open, so air can go into it. It will smell less. My grandpa does it his life long and it works perfectly. In some citys in summer biotrash ist emptied every week without extra cost.

[@kingabalazs2076]

Or you can buy Biotonnenpulver and put on the top every time you throw away Biomüll. During winter it's not necessary, but in summer helps a lot.

[@barfuss2007]

Take a KÄRCHER :-)

[@avinci3116]

Yes airing it is the way to go, flies/ maggots don’t like bright and I guess “fresh” spaces to live in

[@reinhard8053]

My mother put a net between the trash can and the top against insects. Don't know if it works ?

[@salomewild6612]

@@reinhard8053 many Insects have their eggs in the waste, before you even buy the fruits...so I think it would keep some Insects in and those, whitch don't have teir eggs in the waste out.. but I don't think it helps against the smell,.because the smell comes from rotting compost...

[@robertzander9723]

Hahaha,🤭✌️ it was a lot of fun to watch you explaining all these things. Kevin is becoming an expert, he did it so well, maybe he can do a TV show for recycling in the future. You can spend so much time in Germany for recycling, it can be a kind of hobby. In Germany usually the grocery stores like Rewe or Edeka have boxes for the batteries, mostly at the place where you can pack your stuff into the shopping bags. In Vienna, Austria we have something for normal garbage and paper near to the house and somewhere on the street are places for glass bottles white and colour, for all the plastics and metal. And the groceries have machines for Pfand bottles. My parents in Berlin have all the garbage cans near to the house at the side of their court with big cans for plastic, bio, different bottles, paper, metal and normal garbage. With the beer bottles they have to go to the grocery store, mostly Netto. When I visit my family in Germany i always ask them the first day's how it goes. Thanks for sharing that important topic with us. It's always funny to see it with the eye's of someone else. ☺️😜

[@berlindude75]

Despite all the hassle, Kevin still looked and sounded excited. ;)

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I always try to have a good attitude!

[@marcomobson]

@@kevinmcfall5285 👍😂

[@Der_wahre_C17]

I just through all plastic in the yellow bin.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Nice! Which Bundesland are you in, if I may ask?

[@Der_wahre_C17]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Thüringen.

[@birei7825]

Me too. I‘m from Rheinland-Pfalz

[@roesi1985]

@@Der_wahre_C17 Hello, fellow Thuringian!

[@cbel123]

against the Smell: Keep the Biotonne clean and as dry as possible. The paper bags are a great start, but you can also put eggshels and paper towels down at the bottom

[@lizvlx]

or organic cat litter that is compostable. but if you have a garden, then just do a compost.

[@rebeccarendle3706]

Yes..you can look online and the recycle department have tips how to deal with your organic bin... Infact sometimes the trash men will leave you an information note. They did that for me once because in winter when it gets really cold the organics freeze and then do not empty out.. The trash men left me an information sheet which said to put some cardboard at the bottom of the bin.. This soaks up any liquid and stops the organics freezing to the bottom, so it will still empty when they tip it out even at - 10c. I always put cardboard in the bottom of my organic bin now (I cut down cardboard boxes to fit the bottom of the bin), even in summer... This also helps against strong smells! Also keep the bin in the shade. A heavy brick on the lid also makes it more difficult for the flies to get under the lid.. Which will reduce flies and therefore maggots.

[@furzkram]

I think Kevin can now work as a recycling consultant ... A side job maybe.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Right?! Helping immigrants learn how to recycle 🤣🚛.

[@tobias891]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Not only immigrants..... :-)

[@RustyDust101]

Totally agreed.

[@herzschlagerhoht5637]

You only have to bring bottles and special trash to the Wertstoffhof, Tetrapak and mixed household trash is "grüner Punkt" that you put into the "Gelber Sack"! ;)

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

We don’t have a Gelber Sack here! Crazy, right?!

[@simonaw.1215]

Just put your Bio waste bin every once in a while outside with an open lid. If you leave it for maybe 1 hour, all the maggots will be eaten by the birds. This will reduce the smell.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Ahhh, cool! We will try that.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Fabulous! Feed the wildlife!

[@untergehermuc]

In Germany, you give the postman a big tip at Christmas. So maybe it would be nice if you give him a tip (like 20€) cause of all the headache you were causing ;)

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Yes! We did give him some nice chocolate a few times.

[@powerplay1939]

Are you a Postman yourself? 😉😀

[@ingevonschneider5100]

Do your own compost in the garden, dont put it in a bin.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Yeah good point, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the nastiness.

[@tammos.9832]

​@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife You can even use those old pallets to build it. From my experience there's very little smell, especially when you cover the kitchen waste with lawn clippings, leaves or soil.

[@swanpride]

@@tammos.9832 From my experience, you should refrain from putting specific kitchen waste - especially eggs - on the compost. No matte how much you put on it, it is a good way to draw in rats and other pests. No danger for that if you stick to stuff which came from plants originally.

[@tammos.9832]

@@swanpride Yes, I'm sorry didn't think of mentioning that. The compost is essentially vegan, things like meat, bones and cheese go into the Restmüll.

[@MartinMundorf]

Hi :) .... well its run by Kreis/County - like your friends in the black forest (Baden-Württemberg) I have here in northern Rheinland-Pfalz all plastics to go into the yellow bin(as well as the tetrapaks) , paper in the blue, all glass (which is no Pfand) goes into the collecting container (seperated by colour of course^^) and all the rest goes to the Restmüll. (tin and aluminium going as well into the yellow). And to answer kevins Question: Biomasse is often used to generate energy (by burning, i think?) - but Biomasse from garden(-ing) like cut grass, leaves, wood etc. is fermented to compost, which you can get free as new fertilizer for your own garden.

[@DAEPunkerNummero1]

Next drinking game: have a shot everytime kevin says Wertstoffhof.^^

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Right?! 🤣🤣 18 drinks later 🥴🥴

[@Zimtbiss1]

This should be the test immigrants have to pass in order to receive citizenship. This video was so much fun to watch! After a few minutes I was wondering: did you ever dream of this? Like a nightmare, in which you were surrounded by hundreds of bins and you didn't find the right one? :D You are unbelievably busy and enthusiastic and ambitious to learn this!

[@thedaywhen9741]

Here are some tips for your organic waste problem: You need to clean your organic waste bin from time to time. It also helps if you put a thin layer of straw, sawdust, egg cartons at the bottom. This helps against maggots: Mix salt, vinegar essence and water and put the mixture in the bin. After the appropriate time, leave the bin to air dry. Maggots come from flies that lay their eggs in the bin. Always close the lid of the bin so that the flies do not get in in the first place. So-called Biotonnenpulver (bio-bin powder ) is available on the market. It binds odours and is said to be biological. (no experience with that) By the way, I live in Oberbayern, too. But our recycling is much much easier. For example, you can put the TetraPaks, cans, caps, tubes and all sorts of plastic in one bag or container.😁

[@Ossey1976]

Not all more flexible plastic bottles go into the garbage... those with the Mehrwegflaschen-symbol also get returned to the store (Symbol with a can, a bottle and a curved arrow)

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Ok, I will keep an eye out for that!

[@petereggers7603]

@@kevinmcfall5285 Here's a link...pls look at the two different logos at the end of the article... www.mehrweg-mach-mit.de/was-ist-mehrweg/

[@Ossey1976]

@@hovawartfreunde4599 I didnt´t want to confuse them with german Verschachtelungswörtern, so that they do not fall into the Verschachtelungswortkonfusionsverzweiflungsfalle.

[@Ossey1976]

@@hovawartfreunde4599 Ausserdem, netter Name! Ein (leider verstorbener) Freund der Familie hatte auch einen Hovawart, und ich hab sie immer wieder bei mir zum dogsitting gehabt, zuletzt für 4 Monate, bevor sie eine neue, tolle Familie gefunden hat. Super Hunderasse, ich vermisse sie manchmal wirklich!

[@bigernie9433]

PE stands for polyethylene, there are quite a few other abbreviations you can find on plastic items in Europe if you are interested in chemistry such as PS (polystyrene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) etc etc

[@richard--s]

Yes and PE-LD stands for PE-low-density, that's why it's flexible, there is PE-HD too, which is the high-density PE obviously. But it's hard to recycle plastic, that's why they try to get clean material of just one version in one container to melt it and make new such things. I occationally do 3D printing (with less than 100g 3D print waste per year! I just print things that I want to keep. When I don't like the looks or the "predicted" function (would it work as it should?) when I design it, then I don't print it ;-) and I have seen quite some differences in the materials and I don't dare to recycle it on my own. It gets unpredictable. So I can imagine how difficult it would be to recycle the household plastic items from grocery shopping... And that unpredictability is why there often is a downcycling where they make less sophisticated items out of recycled plastic, because there are plastic parts in it that should not have been there.

[@aaronhobbins3893]

Trying to get my wife on board with moving to Germany - I think I will avoid showing her this video :)

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

I’d recommend that 🤣🤣. Except that it seems from the comments that no one in Germany has it as complicated as we do! So you’ll be fine if you don’t move to our Gemeinde.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Hahahahaha!

[@aaronhobbins3893]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I first lived in Germany in 1989 when I was a kid and the recycling stations looked just like the ones you visit here - I'm glad at least some of the country has evolved.

[@NoobsyPoopsy]

You usually have 4 bins. Waste, bio, recycling and paper. Glass and electronics bins everywhere. It's simple. Don't worry 😃

[@RustyDust101]

You are welcome here. Show your wife the other videos of Sarah and Kevin, they are beautiful to behold. That'll bring her on board.

[@01AllLove]

5:37 the apple juice have Pfand. The Traube should have it too. But the Heinz Tomaten Ketchup have no Pfand. All different drinks should have Pfand, water, juice and alcohol. You can see on the bottle the Pfand symbol. The Pfand symbol is the can and bottle with the arrow.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

I will look more closely!

[@hansmuller3604]

Juice should not have pfand, schorle should have.

[@Baccatube79]

Hard liquor, sparkling wine and wine usually has no deposit on the bottles. But some wine vendors gladly take back the empty bottles after all

[@n0wi153]

Recycling is 100% German ; )

[@enrichy4933]

Never seen so many ways of recycling plastic :O I live in another Bundesland in Germany and I guess recycling is just different (=easier) here than it is in Bavaria. So it differs per Bundesland.

[@Henning_Rech]

Nein, nicht das Bundesland entscheidet, sondern der Stadt-/Landkreis. Es gibt auch in Bayern Kreise mit gelbem Sack oder gelber Tonne, und auch in anderen Bundesländern Kreise, die nicht das DSD beauftragt haben.

[@charlgeorgia6029]

Darn! All that would give me a headache🤦🏾‍♀️. They would have to send the recycle police after me😂

[@LJMahomes]

Regarding the Neumarkter Lammsbräu cases and also bottles, I’m pretty sure that they have a deposit, so you shouldn’t bring them to the Wertstoffhof. Generally speaking, the shop where you buy things has to accept those bottles back. I don’t think I ever saw them in the supermarket, I only sold tons of them when I worked in catering and we always collected them and I think a supplier took them back. You can probably get some money back, I would guess 8ct per bottle and 1,50€ for the case, so it‘s probably 2,30€ per case. Btw for regular size beer cases you get 3,10€ which is 1,50€ for the empty case and 8ct per empty bottle (there are 20 of them in it)

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Ok, great to know!

[@beetle-pz9lv]

I am also really sure because I buy it sometimes - maybe you tried to return it in a shop that doesn't sell it? Neumarktes Lammsbräu is sold basically in every organic grocery store (like Alnatura) all over Germany. Fun fact: I grew up near Neumarkt, where the beer comes from. It used to be a local brewery, a family business, but they changed to organic beer very early, like in the early 80s, and now it's sold across the country.

[@obadiahslope1]

Back in the nineties, my German mother-in-law used to cut out the plastic windows from envelopes and separate paper tags and staples from the tea bags. A fun way to spend your retirement, I used to think. German recycling zeal goes way back.

[@ingevonschneider5100]

I am puzzled that you dont have Gelber Sack and Gelber Punkt. I thought it were everywhere in Germany.

[@100100freak]

same

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Ah we have heard of this, but don’t have it! Is that for plastics?

[@sisuguillam5109]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife basically all packaging. So yoghurt containers, tin cans, chip bags, shampoo containers.

[@grandmak.]

so did I .

[@ingevonschneider5100]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Sorry, I messed it up, it is called Grüner Punkt, it is on nearly every package you buy in the supermarkt. This items you can put in the Gelber Sack, basically you can put every item out of plastic, tinplate, aluminium, styrofoam and beverage/milk carton in the Gelber Sack. You must have this in Bavaria too. You dont have to bring it all to the Werkstoffhof.

[@walther2492]

The gods of germaness smile upon you, my friend.

[@heinzi5955]

Hallo there are different rules in every Kreis (County). We habe yellow bags for all Plastik. A hint for your Biomüll. Use this Material you buy for a Cats toilette. Always put a handful of this over your Biomüll, when you throw something in. You will habe no smell and no maggots. You are doing this very well.

[@beehappy79]

I miss Sperrmüll, old clothes, ...

[@Krokostad]

I live in a small town near Munich and we had your system until a few years ago. Since then we just have a yellow bin for all "Wertstoffe", also 3 other bins: Bio, Altpapier and Restmüll. So I bring only glas to the Wertstoffhof (and grass after mowing. Where do you put the grass in the US???)

[@map2932]

When we lived in Florida we had curb pick up once a week for yard trash, such as tree limbs, grass clippings, etc. Now we live in Berlin, have no yard to maintain and don’t miss it the slightest bit.

[@NKKBerlin]

In my region we are allowed to order a second paper recycling bin if your family is big. And paper bins are free of charge! Maybe it's the same in your "Landkreis"? Just ask for it...

[@mehrvonmartha]

I never found myself watching a video about trash before but this was surprisingly interesting!! thank you :))

[@mchorst6702]

Your single use pallets, i would suggest process them to firewood.

[@TheBigBlondGuy]

hi we use "myTonni Bio- und Mülltonnenstreu" for our Bio-Tonne. can be found on amazon or maybe your local Hardwarestore

[@rieckenberg]

Hi Sara and Kevin, Looks like you've gotten quite the education when it comes to German recycling. 🤯 Here im Kreis Pinneberg (near Hamburg) it feels a little bit more relaxed than your recycling system in Bayern. We basically have 3-4 bins for "Restabfall", "Gelber Sack", "Altpapier" and "Bio". Glas can be thrown away at the "Altglascontainer" and that's it. No need to drive to a Wertstoffhof, everything except glas gets collected from your house. Every bin will be emptied every 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your needs and size of your bin. If you grow up with this system, it's not really something you think about, but I imagine coming from the US, it's quite an experience.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Yes that’s so true - when you grow up this way, it’s just how you live your daily life, no big deal. To us, it’s like a whole other new lifestyle! Good to know it’s easier up in Kreis Pinneberg.

[@Reboegga]

And batteries/light bulbs can be taken to most grocerie and drug stores (e.g. DM).

[@grandmak.]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife the good part is that you become aware of what happens to the environment if people throw everything together in one garbage container.

[@nordwestbeiwest1899]

@@Reboegga @ = Also at ALDI, LIDL, etc.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

@@grandmak. yes!!!

[@gerdahessel2268]

In Berlin the biomass is used to make biogas and some of the lorries and cars of the garbage-company are run with that biogas or it's used to heat the buildings.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Very cool!

[@LaBellaPiccolina]

In parts of Upper Franconia as well :)

[@christianmarx3249]

when you outside and drink something in a Pfand bottle. place it nearby a trash can, NOT inside. Poor people collecting them.

[@MsJojo1910]

Awesome explained !!! I wish more Country in the World, would do more Recycling.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

We do, too! It’s so important!

[@judithneumann6221]

Wow! You're doing better than any German person I know!!! :) :) :)

[@csrschaki]

in Schleswig Holstein we have Restmüll, yellow and blue,

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Nice, that sounds much easier!

[@TeeEeBee]

I live in lower saxony, our trash sorting regulations seem a little less complicated than yours 😅 We have the "gelbe Tonne" where all plastic waste goes. Then we have a blue one for paper, brown for bio and black for general waste. Glass and "Pfand" are the same.

[@RoadsFranconia]

And thats why it is called "Wertstoffhof"... because this trash has a value! Wert = Value.

[@conniebruckner8190]

yes, there's money in "them that trash". Several documentary films show how they do it. Unfortunately they barely make any profit, but there's hope that when *everyone* recycles as well as you do, then it will pay off big!

[@lilithbing6990]

Those small soft styrofoam thingies you're talking about, aren't really made of styrofoam. They're made out of corn and that's why you recycle them differently

[@JakobFischer60]

I am happy to see that your region still has that funny sorting of different kinds of plastic. When I lived in the south of Munich 30 years ago we had to separate PS from PE and PP, and PE-HD (high density) and PE-LD (low density). I almost felt like a chemist. Now we live in Swabia and have the usual yellow bag you mentioned.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Yes! It does make you feel like a chemist!

[@KirstenJoerg]

What a great video - being German we have to say that recycling is very very bad in the UK, there also no deposit system on beverages which results in the fact that people just throw away their bottles etc. wherever they go, it's quite sad.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

That’s a shame, sounds like how it is in most of the US, too. And, hey guys! 💕

[@KirstenJoerg]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Hello lovely people! I know, wish they would really change something as our planet needs it.

[@FHB71]

we have the yellow bin/sack as well, it gets separated of course, but that is done at a recycling factory. Sometimes it may also be simply burned for energy which is not the best way of getting rid of it of course, but at least the burning is controlled and filtered again.

[@christianmarx3249]

when you give away the Pfand bottles make sure its a big market. because the market just need to take back the kind of bottles they also sell.

[@carolynmcfall1205]

As an American who's been recycling since my first came home from Kindergarten and asked why we weren't recycling, wow!! So wish the USA took recycling as seriously and as enthusiastically!!!

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Thanks Carolyn! Sara talks about how she came home from kindergarten after learning to turn the water off while brushing teeth, and was horrified that her family members left the water on! Funny how experiences like that stick with you for so long.

[@petereggers7603]

@@kevinmcfall5285 In the early 1980s we were taught in Germany how to save energy (and resources) with the help of a big campaign started by the federal departement for economic. Most sucessful was an oval sticker in national colors saying "I am energysaver" which one could see on every second car. Just google "ich bin energiesparer". Memories like you've mentioned... 😊

[@RustyDust101]

Umm, okay, the name McFall might not be totally uncommon, but... errr, just out of curiosity, are you, Carolyn, and you, Kevin, related somehow? Sorry if that was rude or too private.

[@Alexander-dt2eq]

​@@kevinmcfall5285 and the funny thing is in many places Germans save so much water that the water pipes need to get flushed with water from time to time. So Please. DO NOT SAVE WATER in GERMANY. We have enough water here.. BUT DO IT in Southern Europe or in any country which is dry.

[@Turbo-ic8lw]

Kevin if you have your first bottle made of blue glass - please make a video how you try to figure out where to put it in in the Werkstoffhof. Btw. As a german who speaks Swedish let me explain: A kista and a Kiste are no false friends. The main meaning of "Kiste" is a wooden box. You can also say "er liegt in der Kiste" (He lies in the box) to say something like "He lies 6 feet under". And even the Swedish box låda is related to many words like the German Schublade or the english "to load"

[@TheIncredible1984]

and when you go to your first german christmas market (hoppefully at the end of this year) and drink something there (which is a must) then you will get to know another system of Pfand for the mugs.

[@RoadsFranconia]

"Oh mein Gott, er hat 'ne hat eine Tasse!!"

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Pfand on mugs for Glühwein? I definitely am excited for Glühwein!

[@Henning_Rech]

​@@kevinmcfall5285 You will find such a deposit system (or "bring your own mug) on all places where beverages are sold in the public. Since less than two weeks the commercial use of single-use plastic mugs is no more allowed in the European Community. www.tagesschau.de/inland/gesellschaft/verpackung-faq-101.html

[@sonntagskind84]

Welcome to Germany! :-) As a german, i like those videos, because it let me see all that "normal" stuff from a different angle! :-) And so i have some extra informations, about saving the environment for you, that normally no one tells you. So lets start with the "Restmüll": It is not difficult at all: When you can burn it, and it will become ash afterwards, and wont burn with massive toxic smoke (batteries for example or electronic stuff) you can throw it into the restmüll. So if you have some really dirty plastic stuff, and you dont want to wash it. Throw it into the restmüll if you want, unless it will burn. In germany restmüll normally will get burned, and not stored in landfills. And it will generate electricity or "Fernwärme". And now something really interesting: we are so effective in recycling and Mülltrennung, that the Restmüll has so less energy in it, that it wont burn byitself any more. So what do you have to do, to burn that stuff? Heat it up with gas! Sounds weird. It is. So if you put some high-energy-plastic or some paper to the restmüll, they wont have to use that much gas. Crazy, right? So in conclusion: separating the waste is great. But you do not have to be more exact than necessary. The plastic waste you sort at home, will be sorted again, and a lot of it will be put to the restmüll anyway. If xou buy cheese or salami for example, they come normally in a plastic-thing with a plastic foil on top. The "hard"thing can be recycled, the foil don't! So foil goes into Restmüll, the other part into the "Gelbe Sack" or "Gelbe Tonne". And here is the tricky part: If you do not separate the foil from the other part, BOTH will end up in the Restmüll. Because the machines can sort plastic, but not separate it. And when i think of the "sorting machines", there is another problem: Black Plastic. The Machines detect the type of plastic with light-based sensors. If the plastic is black, they can not detect it, and...you guessed it...it will end up in the restmüll anyway. So if you can, try to avoid buying things in black plastic. Best way for the environment is, to not generate waste. Stay away from the "Einwegpfandflaschen" (the flimsy ones), they will get shredded and replaced by new produced bootles. "Mehrwegpfand" (Those more stable bottles that come in Kisten) will get washed and reused. Much better for the environment. What you should NEVER do: Put your Biomüll into plastic-trash-bags and put it into the Biomüll. It cant be filtered out, and Biomüll will become "Blumenerde" after the recycling. And there is already enough microplastic in it. But as i said...if it will burn, you can throw it into the restmüll. And when you think about the stored energy...dont throw very very wet things away. Another thing is "Speisöl" from the "Friteuse". It has to be putted into the restmüll! Do not just wash it away! It is very difficult to clean the water afterwards. Washing the dishes and pans is no problem. Some liters of Speiseöl are. Or maybe you use "dry showersoap" intstead of shower-gel. It is mostly water anyway. So you save energy for the transport (its more heavy, uses more space). And "soap" normally comes in paper (Pappe). So no showering-gel-bottles have to be produced for you anymore. Drinkable water is another weird thing: Everybody tells you, you have to save water! "Dont use it! Save it!" But thats just one part of the story. We germans are "Weltmeister im Sparen" and so, we did, what was told us. And now, we are using not enough water to keep the canalisation clean by itself, because there is not enough water to wash all that dirt away. And so the guys from the "Stadtwerke" have to wash the canalisation...And they use...Water! Crazy, right? And for that extra work, the costs for water are rising of course. And we pay the water by cubicmeters/per 1000l... If just the costs were rising while using the same amount of water, it will be a little more expensive. But using less at the same time will push the costs "per cubicmeter" a lot. Its mathematics. And because water becomes more and more expensive, most people try to even save more water, what i can understand, its not theyr fault, because nearly nobody tolds you about the cleaning-problem. What you really should save is WARM water. Heating up water costs a lot of energy. So it is much better for the environment (CO2 wise), if you shower 1degree colder and shorter, than pressing the "Wasserspartaste" on the toilet as fast as possible. The Water out of the wall in germany is really good and controlled with german "Genauigkeit". Often and in many regions, the water is better than the one you can buy in bottles. So, do yourself a favour and do not buy water in bottles. If you like sparkling water, you can get some of those "sodamakers". It will save you time and money. And no Diesel-Truck has to drive across the land just to bring you water, that already comes out of your wall. Greetings from the north and the baltic sea!

[@peterschon906]

Tip to keep the Biotonne clean: 1.Wash it sometimes straight after they empty it sometimes it’s enough just to rinse it out with water. 2. Keep your daily biomass wrapped in old newspapers. Good luck 😉 Really enjoy your videos👍

[@c.w.8200]

Yes, rinsing is a must, especially in the summer you have to take extra care.

[@blubberdignubber]

If possible, then keep the lid of the trash can open and put the can in a cool place. The decomposition process of the biomass starts immediately and allows warmth and moisture to develop. If the lid remains closed, the moisture stays inside and condenses on the bin shell and lid, keeping the biomass moist and warm. Warm and moist biomass decomposes faster with corresponding smell. Try to keep the biomass cool and dry.

[@wernholttempelhoff9301]

You can hold lectures at the university in the field of environmental technology as a visiting professor, well done.

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

There you go!

[@grauen1989]

In Dutch "Kiste", pronounced and spelled the same as in German, is also coffin. The German "Kiste" is called "doze" over there which sounds like the German "Dose" (tin). While "Dose" is called "blikje". So German and Dutch is in this case really confusing.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

So cool all those little intricacies!

[@barvdw]

you probably mean doos in stead of doze (dozen is plural), but in the case of a plastic case, I'd probably use bak in stead. Then again, I'm Belgian, we speak Dutch like the Austrians speak German ;)

[@chrismeyer9402]

Immer wen fragen, wenn eine Flasche nicht angenommen wird..Zu 99,99% ist da Pfand drauf, aber die Maschine kann das nicht einlesen.

[@hettyrasp8223]

I use biodegradeble kittylitter which can be disposed in the "Biotonne"

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Ah cool! We will have to get some of that. Where do you get it?

[@ingeborggroth1415]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife At "Fressnapf" or "Zooplus", I usually order it online, so I don't have to carry the heavy bags :)

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Great, thank you!

[@ennykraft]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Get it from DM: Dein Bestes Öko-Klumpstreu. It's made of very small wood chips and costs €3,95 for 10 liters. The one you can buy at the pet shop is called Cat's Best and is more expensive.

[@muratti72muc]

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife also you can use sawdust, leaves, gras and bushes from the garden when you cut them and some of the paper egg boxes are also no problem. It works like a sponge and soak up the moisture and smell. In your region Traunstein all Bio-Müll goes to a biogas plant for make energy and fertilizer. For the smell and maggots/flies use vinegar water. 1Liter "Essig-Essenz 80%" cost maybe €10. It's enough for 10-20 liter vinegar water or the next 2-3 years. Just put the vinegar water in a old spray bottle and spray it sometimes over your Biomüll. When the vinegar smell is to strong to you put some peppermint or lavender oil in it. This 3 smells this typ of flies hate. Lavender is the best natural insects stopp, only real bees and butterflies like lavender. Also lavender is a easy and good looking garden plant.

[@Rainerjgs]

Packing Peanats = Styropor-Chips

[@verenagritz658]

Oh dear, you made me laugh so hard! 20 different types of trash and Kevin still being excited about it... 😂 Living in Munich life is a lot easier trashwise, but we don't have space to store the recycling - so every second day (even though we try to avoid plastic) someone has to go to the recycling containers by bike or foot. Really fancy trash-biking! 😉 Our kids hate it, but it's also their job. Luckily we have 4, so they can take turns. You do a great job adjusting to Germany and keeping the spirit up!

[@MyMerryMessyGermanLife]

Ah so cool you also have 4 kids! Yeah Kevin got quite excited about TRASH 🤣

[@wichardbeenken1173]

It‘s a Bierkasten! In some context Kiste means in German the same as in Swedish.

[@vattenpoel1328]

Yes, and in swedish it is called a Back.

[@birgerhansen1532]

Super funny and great knowledge! Every german I know loves to drive to the Werkstoffhof on the weekend. Somehow there is a great sense of comradery there. (btw: a great place to meet germans casually.) - I can't wait for part two: "How to recycle electrical appliances".

[@kevinmcfall5285]

The Wertstoffhof is definitely crowded on the weekends! I often go first thing in the morning on weekdays after the kids are off to school.

[@elephantcastle5110]

Electrical appliances are next level 😆

[@barvdw]

@@kevinmcfall5285 Yes! Not having a 9-to-5 really helps to avoid the busy hours ad the recycling station.

[@Rainerjgs]

Die staatliche Gebiets-Verwaltung in Deutschland glieder sich in Gemeinde (Weiler, Dorf, Markt, Stadt, Großstadt), Landkreis, Regierungsbezirk, Bundesland. Die Abfallwirtschaft wird entweder von der Stadt, oder am Land vom Landkreis organisiert.

[@edm9704]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. I've been looking for an explanation of the German system. Your video is so good that you could sell it. I think many people will ask for your permission to rebroadcast the video. I wish people in the U.S. were more interested in proper recycling.

[@kevinmcfall5285]

Thanks, you are so kind!

[@Alexander-dt2eq]

it was more of a nightmare video :D I think recycling is a good thing, but you have to keep it simple!

[@edm9704]

@@Alexander-dt2eq The Bavarian system that Kevin McFall showed us IS nightmarish, but is a necessary intermediate step as Germany and the rest of the world work toward better technologies of packaging and other materials. --Plastic is fantastically useful, but manufacturers need to coordinate and reduce the types that are produced. Yes: "Keep it simple".

[@Alexander-dt2eq]

@@edm9704 its not the bavarian system. Every small district has their own setup. you go 1km in bavaria its different, but then you go 500km and you find the same system :) Basic thing is seperate PAPER/PLASTIC+METAL/BIO/GLASS and REST. It can be simple and for most parts of Germany its down to that 4-5 categories. Do not get a wrong picture! This video is not what its like in Germany for the ordinary person. Its funny to watch though

[@edm9704]

@@Alexander-dt2eq Thank you for the further explanation.

[@pppetra]

Now imagen that edeka does not take in pfand items from any other store. Welcome in the Netherlands where every store only takes in the bottles they sell. Unless it is Coca cola, 7 up, Sprite (brands Being sold pretty much anywhere). Also fun.. quark : plastic lid sonstiges, metal film plastics and metal, the container, washing IT till clean that goes to the plastic and metal, the glued on Cardboard, paper. Those good old days out quark came in a plastic container with a metal film and nothing else. Looking back.. how do you feel about how recycling in the usa is pretty much not practiced? We even have recycling bins for textile..