Germany's aluminium beverage can recycling rate stands at a reported 99 per cent, the highest among packaging materials in the country, according to an International Aluminium Institute (IAI) study. The same study places the country's PET bottle recycling rate at 95 per cent and glass bottle recycling at 81 per cent, within a European total of 76.3 per cent. A central pillar of that performance is the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), widely known in Germany as Pfand.
From mandatory deposit to a nationwide system
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 it. 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 aim was an efficient system built on common standards while allowing retailers, drinks companies and other market participants to manage their respective roles.
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 through 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, the system now handles around 20 billion containers annually, making it the largest one-way deposit-return system in the European Union, with more than 1,000 companies affiliated as participants and partners.
How DRS strengthens aluminium recycling
For the aluminium industry, the advantage is not simply the number of cans returned. It is the creation of a reliable, dedicated stream of used beverage cans that enters organised collection and recycling channels rather than being lost in mixed waste. The EUR 0.25 refund gives consumers a direct financial reason to return containers, while retail take-back and reverse-vending machines make the process convenient, and container recognition and standardised identification help sort eligible packaging into separate collection streams. A refundable deposit also helps limit material loss by keeping eligible containers out of ordinary disposal routes.
Recycling capacity behind the scheme
The 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, 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 expanded its Gelsenkirchen recycling facility, increasing production capacity by 20 per cent to 80,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium.
These operations illustrate the connection between collection and industrial recovery: DRS helps bring containers into organised channels, while 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, where the European Commission and Germany's Federal Environment Ministry highlighted its contribution to the circular economy. EU Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall said all packaging—whether 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 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.