Germany, recycling leader

"Germany is considered a leader in recycling and waste management and its success story comes down to two factors: strong government policies and high public awareness in recycling . . . Over the last two decades, Germany has adopted a series of strategies – such as mandatory waste sorting policies and an extremely efficient deposit refund scheme – that have significantly improved its waste management and increased its recycling rates . . . Germany was the first country to introduce binding requirements to manufacturers for the recycling and recovery of sales packaging . . . Another milestone was reached after the German government adopted the Green Dot System, forcing manufacturers to place a green label outside of packaging indicating it must be accepted by recycling facilities . . . The strategy is considered the frontrunner of the European Green Dot Scheme, which has since been adopted by more than 130,000 companies across 23 European countries with overwhelmingly positive results. Today, over 460 billion packages are labeled with the Green Dot . . . whoever produces, markets, and consumes goods to be responsible for the avoidance, reuse, recycling, and environmentally compatible disposal of waste that arises . . . The aforementioned policies have had overwhelmingly positive results, and saw recycling rates increased while building an understanding and acceptance of the recycling culture among the public."