Recyclingziel

Recyclingziel is a policy concept used to describe legal or policy targets for the share of waste material that must be recovered and recycled rather than landfilled or incinerated. It is a central element of the circular economy and resource efficiency strategies in many countries, including German-speaking regions. Recyclingziele are typically defined as percentages of total waste generation or of specific streams, such as municipal waste, packaging waste, or electronic waste.

Setting a recyclingziel involves political decisions at national, regional, or local levels, aligned with international commitments. Targets are accompanied by implementation plans and monitoring systems. Progress is measured using official statistics on waste generation and recycling activity, often reported as recycling rates, material recovery rates, or similar indicators. Calculations can vary depending on whether energy recovery is included or how mixed streams are treated.

Policy measures to reach recyclingziele include separate collection systems, sorting and recycling infrastructure, deposit-return schemes, extended producer responsibility schemes, and economic incentives such as subsidies or fees. The approach aims to reduce landfill and incineration, improve material quality for recycling, and support domestic recycling industries.

Challenges include data quality, market demand for recyclates, contamination in collected streams, and technological limits. In practice, progress toward recyclingziele is influenced by economic conditions and public participation as well as by regulatory alignment at the EU level. Critics sometimes point to differences between reported recycling rates and actual resource conservation.

See also: Circular economy; Waste hierarchy; Extended producer responsibility; Deposit-return system; Packaging waste directive.