Yellow garbage can in Mainz: introduction from 2027?
Mainz City Council has decided to replace the yellow bag with the yellow garbage can across the board. The aim is to improve the cityscape and collect packaging waste more sustainably - as the garbage can will eliminate the need for plastic bags. The changeover could take place on January 1, 2027.
In 2025, the Mainz City Council decided in its new waste management plan to introduce a yellow bin in the state capital. The dual systems, which are responsible for the disposal of packaging waste under the Packaging Act (VerpackG), wish to continue with the yellow bag collection and do not intend to offer a full-service option in the event of a switch to the yellow bin. With full service, the waste container is picked up by the waste management company from its designated location on the property and returned there after emptying. However, the VerpackG does not provide for this additional service.
Since the current contract period with the dual systems ends on December 31, 2026, the Municipal Waste Management of Mainz and Mainz-Bingen (KAW), as the responsible public waste management authority, conducted corresponding discussions with the current lead negotiator in the last quarter of 2025 on behalf of the state capital. However, since no agreement could be reached with the negotiator regarding the type of collection containers, KAW issued a framework directive that was sent to all Dual Systems. This framework directive provides for a transition from bag collection (yellow bag) to container collection (yellow bin) in the partial service starting January 1, 2027.
The dual systems have currently filed an objection to this framework directive. However, since the framework directive was issued for immediate implementation, the yellow bin could still be introduced in Mainz as of January 1, 2027.
Janina Steinkrüger, Head of the Environment Department, is firmly convinced “that the introduction of the yellow bin in Mainz will, on the one hand, contribute to improving urban cleanliness and the cityscape, and on the other hand, increase sustainability in the collection of packaging waste by eliminating plastic bags. For this reason, the implementation of the Mainz City Council’s resolution is a very high priority.”
As a reminder: The City of Mainz had already attempted to introduce the yellow bin with full-service collection three years ago. However, due to the impossibility of implementing full-service collection, the dual systems successfully challenged this plan in court at the time.
The actual reason for the objection is the dual systems’ rejection of the 14-day collection frequency. They would only be willing to agree to the switch to the yellow bin if the collection frequency were extended from two to three weeks. In principle, the dual systems consider collection via yellow bags to be the most effective method.
Background: Organization and financing of the disposal of used packaging waste
The financing of the collection of so-called lightweight packaging (LVP)—that is, used and nearly empty sales packaging made of plastics and metals (e.g., aluminum, tinplate)—has absolutely nothing to do with the waste disposal fees levied by the City of Mainz.
Under the Packaging Act (VerpackG), consumers are obligated to return used packaging to the respective disposal system of the Dual Systems whenever they purchase packaged products, as manufacturers have commissioned the Dual Systems—of which there are currently ten—to handle the collection and recycling of used packaging. The so-called licensing fees for subsequent recycling are therefore already included in the product’s sales price. These fees, in turn, do not go to the municipality but to the Dual Systems.
Although the municipalities do have a say in this process, in that, according to Section 22 of the Packaging Act (VerpackG), coordination must take place between them and the Dual Systems. In this context, the type of collection (pickup or drop-off system), the type of collection containers (bag or bin), and the collection frequency are generally determined. On this basis, the so-called chief negotiator of the dual systems awards the collection contract to a third party on behalf of the respective municipality; typically for a three-year period.