Consumer Education: Why Recycling Knowledge Alone Is Not Enough

On the shop 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 resource that needs to be sorted and disposed of correctly. Retailers reach people at precisely this transition and can therefore offer early guidance on handling packaging after use.

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

Retailers can help bridge this gap. They put millions of packaged products into circulation every day and reach people at a point when the product and its packaging are still perceived as a single unit. The drugstore chain believes that in-store activities, information on packaging and digital resources can raise awareness of recycling and resource conservation during shopping. Its approach focuses on prompts designed to make the topic part of everyday life and encourage correct disposal.
 

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

The challenge lies less in drawing up additional rules than in translating existing knowledge into consistent action. Rossmann therefore sees potential in interactive formats that make recycling understandable and demonstrate the impact of correct sorting. “Instead of simply explaining recycling in theory, customers can take an active role themselves: they sort and recycle packaging in a recycling game, explore material cycles through play and, through actual recycled material, gain a tangible understanding of how used plastics become new packaging,” Rossmann said. 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 leaves a lasting impression of the insights gained,” Rossmann added in an interview with FACHPACK360°.

Targets for packaging and recycled content

However, recycling education only becomes credible when the retailer also develops its own packaging accordingly. Rossmann says it therefore follows the principles of “avoidance, reduction, improvement and recovery”. Wherever possible, packaging should be avoided, made lighter by reducing material thickness and produced with a higher proportion of recycled raw materials. After use, it should be as easy as possible to return it 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 per cent of the plastic used in its own-brand packaging. By 2028, the recycled content of plastic packaging for Rossmann’s own brands is set to rise to 45 per cent. Across all material types, including glass, paper and aluminium, its own-brand packaging is intended to contain 50 per cent recycled materials 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 per cent of its own-brand packaging by weight currently has a recyclability rate of more than 95 per cent. Films and multilayer materials with barrier functions are particularly technically challenging. Such solutions may be necessary to protect products but are more difficult to recycle using existing processes.

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

The company has clearly stated its existing target: by 2030, all own-brand packaging should achieve a recyclability rate of at least 80 per cent.