The glass industry in Germany is not doing well. High energy prices, changing consumer behaviour and increasing international competitive pressure are putting the industry under considerable strain. Traditional sales of wine and beer in particular are steadily declining in volume, while consumption among younger target groups is increasingly shifting towards cans. Overall, demand for glass packaging has been falling for some time.
In addition, international glass volumes produced under significantly cheaper energy and raw material conditions are flooding the German market. For domestic producers, this means a massive cost disadvantage. The consequences are clear: numerous glass manufacturers have already shut down individual furnaces or closed entire plants.
Glass recycling is following this trend with a time lag. Declining production volumes in the glass industry inevitably also translate into lower demand for secondary raw materials.
The collection volume and the quality of waste glass do not pose a problem for glass recyclers, as both are at a good level. For many years, Germany has achieved a collection rate of over 80 per cent. ‘This is also a very good figure by European standards. Other material flows would certainly also be happy with such a good collection rate,’ emphasises Marc Uphoff, bvse Vice President for Waste Glass and Managing Director of Reiling Glas Recycling GmbH & Co. KG.
However, high collection rates alone do not guarantee a stable recycling market. At the latest when ambitious political targets meet declining industrial demand, even well-established material cycles come under pressure.
The European target for glass collection rates was 70 percent up to and including 2024. From 2025, it was raised to 75 percent across the EU. Germany had already exceeded the European minimum requirement and set a national collection rate of 80 percent – ten percentage points above the EU target at the time. Since 2025, a rate of 90 per cent has been in force in Germany, which is 15 percentage points above the European target.
From Marc Uphoff's point of view, this target is clearly excessive. ‘We understand that targets should be ambitious and may sometimes exceed European requirements. However, 90 percent is clearly too high and obviously unachievable in practice.’ The bvse is therefore calling for the national collection rate to be lowered back to 80 percent. This level is still five percentage points above the European target and is also realistically achievable without putting unnecessary pressure on the system.
The discrepancy between political targets and the real market situation is further exacerbating the situation for glass recyclers. While collection rates are set to rise further, the glass industry's capacity has declined noticeably in recent years. As a result of closed glass tanks and reduced production capacities, there is an increasing shortage of buyers for the collected glass.
This problem is particularly evident with green glass. ‘This is particularly noticeable in some regions. Storage facilities are slowly filling up in some regions and more is arriving every day,’ says Marc Uphoff.
Uphoff therefore considers short-term, pragmatic measures to be necessary. A quick and unbureaucratic increase in the permissible storage quantities could help to prevent an acute collapse. Otherwise, there is a risk that waste glass will no longer be accepted and the quantities will back up into the municipal collection systems. ‘Nobody wants that,’ emphasises Uphoff. At the same time, glass recyclers are called upon to examine and develop additional recycling channels for surplus quantities.
Despite the current tense market situation, the industry is not entirely pessimistic about the future. ‘We generally assume that positive impulses in the overall economy will also trigger consumer purchasing impulses and thus increase demand,’ says Marc Uphoff. Regardless of economic effects, however, it is crucial that the glass cycle as a whole be stabilised. This requires a coordinated approach by all players along the value chain – from recycling companies and the glass industry to dual systems, bottlers and retailers to local authorities and private and municipal waste disposal service providers.
Uphoff sees improved framework conditions for the national glass industry as a key prerequisite for this. Competitive energy and electricity prices are necessary to make domestic glass production economically viable again. Glass recycling would also benefit from this.
From the recycling association's point of view, a further reduction in production capacity would have far-reaching consequences. Particularly in view of increasing geopolitical tensions, national capacities for container glass are an essential component of security of supply in crisis situations. In the short term, according to Uphoff, the tense situation facing glass recyclers could at least be alleviated if storage space were made available quickly and without bureaucracy – especially for the currently growing quantities of green cullet.
Author: Alexander Stark, Editor FACHPACK360°
