Dear fellow expat,
A lot of internationals (and Germans!) struggle to understand the rules of separating trash and recycling in Germany.
But don’t worry, once you understand the basic principles, separating trash will feel like a breeze!
I remember the mix of emotions I felt when I first arrived in Germany and realized just how much effort was needed to separate trash properly.
On one hand, I was thrilled to be in a country that took recycling seriously. On the other hand, I felt completely overwhelmed because I didn’t understand the basic principles of the system.
For months, I left batteries and broken electronics lying around at home, simply because I didn’t know where or how to dispose of them correctly.
But once I got the hang of the rules, separating waste was super easy!
I know many internationals go through this same learning curve. To get a sense of the common struggles, I asked our international community on Instagram what they were unsure about when it came to waste separation.
The number of questions I received was overwhelming!
I did my best to respond to everyone, but the volume of questions was so high that I couldn’t keep up.
