A comparative analysis of the packaging recycling systems in Germany, France and the Netherlands has been published by the Stiftung Arbeit und Umwelt der IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik (PO Box 3047, D-30030 Hannover). The study focuses on the recycling practice in cities and municipalities. While the "green dot" scheme in Germany consists of an entirely privately-run system separate from the municipal waste disposal, in France and the Netherlands responsibility is divided between the state and industry. France has a privately-run company, comparable to the two-track system in Germany, called Eco-Emballages. However, the French municipalities are directly involved both organisationally and financially. In the Netherlands there is no such privately-run organisation. Instead, a "packaging covenant" was concluded between the industry and the ministry of the environment.

The amount of plastics in the whole volume of packaging is lowest in Germany (13%) and highest in France (29%), with 23% in the Netherlands. It is in the field of plastics that major differences in the recycling strategies become particularly clear. In Germany the burning of packaging to produce electricity is prohibited. This, together with the large volume of packaging collected due to the provisions of the packaging ordinance, has put a lot of pressure on industry to come up with innovative solutions, resulting in the development of high-performance recycling technologies. All types of plastic and packaging are collected and recycled to produce raw materials or plastics in a reusable form. Collecting and sorting is not done to quite such a great extent by either of Germany's neighbours. In France concentration is focused entirely on the collection of bottles which are sorted by material (PET, PVC, HDPE), thus producing a high percentage of reusable plastics in the recycling process. In the Netherlands, the industry is in the process of developing a plant for mechanically separating potentially reusable materials from the waste before the waste is incinerated. At the same time, investments are being made in recycling processes which produce raw materials and reusable plastics.

The study "Verpackungs-Recycling-Perspektiven, Systemvergleich des Verpackungsrecyclings auf europäischer Ebene am Beispiel Deutschland, Frankreich, Niederlande" (200 pages with numerous tables) is available in German for DEM 62.00 from the Stiftung Arbeit und Umwelt (Tel:: +49 (0)511/7631-386).