Consumer Education: Why Recycling Knowledge Alone Is Not Enough

On the retail shelf, packaging is still part of the product rather than waste. It protects the contents, provides information and shapes first impressions. Only after use does it become a recoverable material that needs to be sorted and disposed of correctly. Retailers reach people at precisely this transition and can therefore provide early guidance on how to handle packaging once it has served its purpose.

There is generally no shortage of information about waste sorting and recycling. Local authorities, government bodies and associations explain through various channels what goes where and how materials can be kept in circulation. Yet there is often still a considerable gap between existing knowledge and its practical application in everyday life.

Retailers can help close this gap. They put millions of packaged products into circulation every day and reach people at a time when the product and its packaging are still perceived as a single unit. The drugstore chain believes that in-store campaigns, packaging information and digital services can connect recycling and resource conservation directly with shopping. Its approach focuses on prompts intended to bring the topic into everyday life and encourage correct disposal.

Beyond trade fair appearances, the company also uses various formats to communicate recycling knowledge. Relevant content has already featured in the “Plastik ist kein Müll!” (“Plastic is not waste!”) campaign and in collaboration with content creator Levi Penell. Through its “Shaping the Future Together” initiative, Rossmann also supports innovative spaces for learning and experimentation in schools.

Although many people are familiar with the basic rules of recycling, the challenge is less about introducing further rules than translating existing knowledge into consistent action. Rossmann therefore sees potential in interactive formats that make recycling understandable and demonstrate the impact of correct waste sorting. “Instead of simply explaining recycling in theory, customers can take an active role themselves: they sort and recycle packaging in the recycling game, explore material cycles through play and, through actual recycled material, gain a tangible understanding of how used plastics become new packaging,” Rossmann says. Information could therefore become more effective when complemented by practical experimentation. “Where technology, gamification and direct experience come together, a dynamic learning process emerges that sparks curiosity and keeps newly acquired insights alive,” Rossmann adds in its interview with FACHPACK360°.

Targets for Packaging and Recycled Content

However, recycling education only becomes credible if the retailer also develops its own packaging accordingly. Rossmann says its approach is therefore guided by the principles of “avoidance, reduction, improvement and recovery”. The company links its “Plastic is not Waste!” campaign to specific packaging targets for its more than 5,000 own-brand products: packaging should be avoided wherever possible, made lighter by reducing material thickness and manufactured with a higher proportion of recycled raw materials. After use, it should be as easy as possible to return to the circular economy.

The recycled content figures reported for 2025 show how far Rossmann has progressed. According to the company, recycled material accounted for 41 percent of the plastic used in its own-brand packaging. By 2028, the recycled content of plastic packaging for Rossmann brands is intended to reach 45 percent. Across all material types, including glass, paper and aluminium, recycled materials should account for 50 percent of own-brand packaging by that date.

Closely linked to the use of recycled content is the question of whether packaging can be recycled again after use. According to Rossmann, around 71.7 percent of its own-brand packaging by weight currently has a recyclability rate of more than 95 percent. Films, tubes and multilayer materials with barrier properties present particular technical challenges. Such solutions may be necessary to protect the product but are more difficult to recycle using existing processes.

According to Rossmann, the transition therefore requires careful consideration of product protection, shelf life, material use and regulatory requirements. The company says it is systematically working on further improvements with partners such as BellandVision.

Its existing target is clear: by 2030, all own-brand packaging should achieve a recyclability rate of at least 80 percent.