Heidelberg’s recycling yards

The recycling yards are marked on the online map of the city. You can also locate them using the city’s official smartphone app ‘Mein Heidelberg’ (My Heidelberg).

*The recycling yards are closed on Sundays and national holidays.

Price lists to download

Alternatives to taking waste to a recycling yard

There are often other convenient ways to dispose of your waste other than by taking it to a recycling yard. Many of the materials accepted by the recycling yards can also be collected directly from your premises (sometimes completely free of charge), or put in a public on-street recycling bin. The City of Heidelberg urges residents to take advantage of these services.

You can put green waste in your own biowaste bin. Two sizes of bin are available: 120 or 240 liters. You can also choose between having your biowaste bin emptied weekly or two-weekly, depending on your individual needs. In the summer, all biowaste bins – including those that would normally be emptied every 14 days – are emptied weekly. 
The biowaste bin is free of charge for users of the basic service (Teilservice). If you have more garden waste than you can fit in your bin, you can put the excess in large paper bags that are available to buy from the administrative offices (Bürgerämter) for €1. These bags should be put out on the curbside on the same day as the bins are emptied. The cost of collection of the bags is included in the €1 purchase price.  

Plastic, metal and composite packaging materials should be put out for collection in yellow bags (gelbe Säcke) every two weeks. The City of Heidelberg also sells yellow bins to residents and businesses, at cost price, even though the Duales System Deutschland (German dual waste management system) only provides for the collection of recyclable waste in yellow bags. Like the yellow bags, the yellow bins are emptied every two weeks. This costs nothing for users of the basic service (Teilservice).

You can conveniently dispose of your waste paper using a paper bin at your home. Paper bins are emptied every two weeks. This is free for users of the basic service (Teilservice). Waste glass goes in public on-street bins around the city.

Bulky items are collected monthly, or even twice a month in some areas of the city. Registration is required for this free service. Private households are entitled to two collections of bulky goods a year (max. 3 cubic meters each time). Online order form for bulky items

Use of the recycling yards by businesses

Under the Kleinmengenregelung (rules for the disposal of small quantities of waste), businesses in Heidelberg can take waste and recyclables to the recycling yards from monday to friday (see ‘What waste is accepted where’).

Larger quantities

Businesses wishing to bring waste to the recycling yard in a light truck, Sprinter-style van, or other vehicle with a carrying capacity of more than 1 m³, must use Wieblingen waste management plant (Abfallentsorgungsanlage Wieblingen, address: Mittelgewannweg 2a).
This applies even if you sort the materials before bringing them to the recycling yard.
If you attempt to bring waste to any of the other recycling yards in one of the above-mentioned vehicles, you will be turned away and sent to Wieblingen waste management plant instead.

Any recyclable materials you take to Wieblingen waste management plant will be weighed, transferred to a separate bin, re-sorted as necessary, and sent for recycling. This enables us to ensure that the goals of the city’s waste management bylaw (Abfallwirtschaftssatzung) are put into practice, according to which recycling is always preferable to putting waste in landfill.

If you regularly produce large quantities of recyclable waste, you might wish to consider getting bins to keep on your premises. The City of Heidelberg will gladly provide you with a financially attractive quote. You can contact our sales team via the central waste hotline +49 6221 58-29999.