Since January 2025, the EU's new obligation to separately collect textiles has officially taken effect. Across Germany, used clothing containers are frequently overflowing, with clothes even scattered around them. Many people mistakenly believe that all textiles can be put into the containers, but this is not actually the case. Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment clearly states that what must be collected separately is not only wearable used clothing, but also damaged textiles, yet in principle these items must not go into household waste. However, after this rule took effect, the clothing placed in containers included large amounts of worn-out garments no longer suitable for wearing or resale, putting enormous pressure on the recycling system. In Aachen, the German Red Cross has removed all 45 of its collection containers for economic reasons.

Regarding disposal rules, Uwe Feige of the German Association of Cities (VKU) clarified: dirty and damaged clothing should still go into residual waste. Items explicitly prohibited from being placed in containers include: torn and heavily worn clothing, textile waste (such as cutting scraps and rags), carpets and bathroom mats, and single shoes. In addition, when a container is full, bags of used clothing must not be left beside it, otherwise it will be regarded as illegal dumping and may result in fines of several hundred euros. For example, in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, repeat offenders can be fined up to 5,000 euros, though the fine may usually be only a two-digit amount.

To avoid fines and dispose of used clothing reasonably, the following alternatives are recommended: donations can be sent by mail to the Deutsche Kleiderstiftung, with a discounted postage voucher provided; some clothing stores such as C&A offer free in-store recycling, sometimes with shopping vouchers; one can also pay attention to donation needs of local social institutions, or give items away for free through second-hand trading platforms; and during door-to-door collection campaigns registered by reputable charitable organizations, used clothing can be placed in designated bags. By contrast, choosing the wrong method not only wastes resources but may also bring legal risks.

On the industry side, the widespread popularity of fast fashion has significantly reduced the number of times clothing is worn and lowered quality, worsening oversupply. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, textiles collected annually have risen from nearly 19,000 tons in 2013 to more than 36,000 tons now, almost doubling. In Germany that year, about 75% of used clothing was collected in containers, and the recycling system urgently needs to adapt to the new rules by optimizing collection frequency and the disposal chain.

Source: Deutschland in der Altkleider-Krise: Diese Bußgelder drohen bei falscher Entsorgung · Originally published on 2026-08-27