Since January 2025, a new EU regulation has taken effect in Germany: under the mandatory separate collection requirement, used clothing and textiles may no longer be thrown into household waste. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) has stated that, in principle, "all textiles, whether well-preserved and still wearable or already damaged, should be collected separately." The policy's original intent was to channel more used clothing into the recycling system, but reality has shown another picture: used clothing bins in many parts of Germany are overflowing, plastic bags bulge from the openings, garments are scattered on the ground, and no one clears them in time.

The root of the problem does not lie entirely in the policy itself. The German Red Cross in Aachen has already removed all 45 local collection bins, on the grounds that they are no longer economically sustainable. Aachen authorities said this predicament had in fact existed for a long time. Uwe Feige of the German Association of Local Utilities (VKU) pointed out to Tagesschau that contaminated and damaged clothing should still be placed in residual waste (Restmüll). In other words, separate collection does not mean "anything can be thrown into the used clothing bin."

According to the drop-off rules, the following items are explicitly excluded:

  • Torn, ripped, or heavily soiled clothing;
  • Textile waste, cutting scraps, rags;
  • Carpets, bath mats;
  • Single shoes.

If the container is full, that means no more items may be deposited. But in reality, many residents pile bags directly next to the bins, even if they contain fairly intact clothing. This is classified as illegal dumping in German states and municipalities, with fines ranging from a few dozen euros to several hundred euros. The district of Vorpommern-Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern can impose fines of up to 5,000 euros on repeat offenders, though in practice only double-digit amounts are usually enforced.

Besides used clothing bins, there are other compliant channels. According to a Nordkurier report, "reusable used textiles may only be placed in designated containers or delivered free of charge to a recycling center (Wertstoffhof)." There are also multiple options:

  • Mail donations: The German Clothing Foundation (Deutsche Kleiderstiftung) accepts clothing by mail and also offers discounted postage labels.
  • In-store collection: Some clothing stores accept customers' discarded clothing free of charge; C&A accepts items directly in stores and sometimes even gives shopping vouchers in return.
  • Local social institutions: You can find out which nearby organizations need in-kind donations.
  • Giving away via classified ad platforms: Slightly more troublesome, but items can be given precisely to people in need.
  • Door-to-door collection: Some companies distribute flyers and collect used clothing bags on scheduled dates, but unscrupulous operators may be mixed in to profit from it; unless convenience is the priority, it is best to confirm that the other party is a charity.
  • Clothing swaps: Some communities hold neighborhood swap markets where secondhand clothing can be exchanged directly.
  • Secondhand stores: Many shops resell used clothing, and well-preserved garments can also be donated to local stores.

Another pressure comes from "fast fashion." The average wearing time and number of wears per garment have decreased, and uneven quality has reduced durability, continuously pushing up the volume of used clothing. The operators behind the collection bins are already struggling in terms of manpower, which is also why, even with such large volumes, the bins cannot be emptied more frequently. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, more than 36,000 tons of textiles are collected each year—less than 19,000 tons in 2013; three-quarters of Germany's used clothing is collected through bins.

For the industry, this shows both that used clothing supply on the consumer side is expanding and that processing capacity at the sorting and reuse end—the recycling bottleneck—is tight. Once the boundary between wearable clothing and discarded textiles is blurred, operating costs, the quality of exported raw materials, and the risk of illegal disposal will all rise simultaneously, ultimately affecting not only municipal recycling in Germany but also the raw material structure of the global secondhand clothing and recycled textile supply chain.

Source: Wenn der Altkleidercontainer voll ist, müssen Sie diesen Fehler vermeiden · Originally published on 2026-09-14