In 1995, 5.1m t of post-consumer sales packaging were deposited in "green dot" collection containers in Germany. This is equivalent to 79% (1994: 68%) of the sales packaging from households and small businesses. Some 4.9m t of the packaging waste sorted out was recycled, the German recycling association Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD, Frankfurter Str. 720-726, D-51145 Köln) said.

As in 1994, this result meant that Duales System was able to fulfil the collecting and sorting targets set by the packaging ordinance and to forward even larger quantities to recycling. The individual figures are as follows: nearly 2.6m t for glass (1994: 2.5m t), 1.3m t for paper and cardboard (1.2m t), 504,000 t for plastics (461,000 t), 260,000 t for tinplate (354,000 t including composites), 32,000 t for aluminium (29,000 t including composites) and 297,000 t for beverage cartons and other composites.

The quotas for the 1995 material flow verification are a statistical average. The lower collection and sorting targets that applied up to the middle of 1995 were replaced by higher quotas on July 1, 1995. These maximum targets set by the German packaging ordinance will really only make their mark in 1996.

Meanwhile, DSD's plastics recycling affiliate, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kunststoff-Recycling (DKR, Frankfurter Str. 720-726, D-51145 Köln), says mixed plastics wastes accounted for around 63% of the 485,000 t of material it received for recycling. Films represented 26%, followed by bottles with 8%, and the cups/EPS fraction accounted for the remaining 3%. Around 16% (80,000 t) of the collected and prepared material was forwarded to feedstock recycling, compared with 11% in 1994. About 84% was recycled mechanically, some 36% (172,000 t) of this in Germany, 14% (67,000 t) within the EU and 34% (166,000 t) outside Europe.

READER SERVICE: "1995 material flow verification" of DSD, with details on individual materials (English/German): PIE-No. 39278.