Germany reports a 99 per cent recycling rate for used aluminium beverage cans, the top figure in a national packaging picture that also includes 95 per cent for PET bottles and 81 per cent for glass bottles, according to an International Aluminium Institute (IAI) study. That places the country ahead of Europe's overall 76.3 per cent recycling record, and it rests on a collection backbone known as the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), or Pfand.
In 2026 Germany marked 20 years of its nationwide one-way deposit scheme, an anniversary celebrated in Berlin on 17 June 2026.
From deposit mandate to nationwide system
The mandatory deposit requirement was decided in 2003. In 2005, retailers and the drinks industry jointly established Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH (DPG) to build 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 1 May that year. The stated goal was an efficient system built on common standards while letting retailers, drinks companies and other market participants manage their own 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 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, 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 companies affiliated as participants and partners.
How DRS supports aluminium recycling
The main advantage for the aluminium industry is not simply the number of cans returned but 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 refund gives consumers a direct financial reason to return containers, while retail take-back and reverse-vending machines make the process convenient. Container recognition and standardised identification help distinguish eligible packaging and direct materials into separate collection streams. This recurring flow can also limit material loss by keeping eligible containers out of ordinary disposal routes.
Recycling capacity behind the collection
Germany's 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.
Several operations illustrate the link between collection and industrial recovery. 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 a year. Hydro-owned WMR Recycling GmbH in Dormagen sorts 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, raising production capacity by 20 per cent to 80,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium.
Milestone and outlook
At the anniversary celebrations, EU Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall said all packaging — 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 Germany's Federal Environment Ministry, said the deposit-refund system makes a very important contribution to the circular economy today. DPG Managing Director Susanne Kürschner noted that the organisation and its partners had maintained the system's stability while making it more efficient, resilient, future-proof and scalable.
The deposit scheme also operates alongside broader packaging collection arrangements, including household sorting through the Dual System, commonly associated with the Grüner Punkt, while eligible single-use beverage containers follow the dedicated deposit route. 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.