Buy a bottle of water in Germany and you'll pay 25 cents more than the price on the shelf. That's the Pfand — a deposit on the bottle itself. Bring the empty back and you get the 25 cents returned.
It sounds like a small thing. In practice it shapes daily life: the machines in every supermarket, the crates stacked on balconies, the bags of bottles in the hallway, and the bottles left carefully next to rubbish bins in every city park. Understanding Pfand is understanding a little bit of how Germany thinks.
How Much Is It?
| Container | Type | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
plastic bottle (single-use) | Einweg | 0,25 € |
drinks can | Einweg | 0,25 € |
glass beer bottle | Mehrweg | 0,08 € |
beer bottle with swing-top | Mehrweg | 0,15 € |
reusable glass or plastic bottle (water, juice) | Mehrweg | 0,15 € |
beer or water crate | Mehrweg | 1,50 - 3,00 € |
Quick notes:
- Einweg means "one way" — the bottle is shredded and recycled. Mehrweg means "many ways" — it's washed and refilled, sometimes dozens of times. Einweg carries the higher deposit precisely to push people towards Mehrweg.
- Single-use bottles and cans with a deposit carry the DPG logo — a stylised bottle and can with an arrow. If you see it, it's worth 25 cents.
- The rules have been extended in recent years. Since 2022 almost all single-use plastic bottles and cans have a deposit, juice included, and since 2024 so do plastic bottles of milk drinks.
- A full crate of beer carries two deposits: 1,50 € for the crate and 8 cents per bottle.
The Words You'll Need
deposit
das Pfand
empties
das Leergut
return machine
der Leergutautomat
deposit receipt
der Pfandbon
deposit bottle
die Pfandflasche
single-use
Einweg
reusable
Mehrweg
can
die Dose
crate
der Kasten
bottle bank
der Glascontainer
waste glass
das Altglas
no deposit
pfandfrei
Practice these words
das Pfand
Quick note: Leergut — literally "empty goods" — is the word on the sign above the machines. Follow it and you'll find the Leergutautomat, usually near the entrance.
How to Return Your Bottles
- Find the Leergutautomat. Almost every supermarket has one, usually right by the door.
- Feed the bottles in one at a time, bottom first. The machine reads the barcode and the logo, so don't crush them.
- Crates go in a separate, larger opening — or to a staff member at the drinks section.
- Press the button when you're done. The machine prints a Pfandbon.
- Hand the Pfandbon in at the till. The amount is taken off your shopping, or paid out in cash if you're not buying anything. Quick notes:
- Shops that sell a type of single-use container generally have to take back that type, regardless of brand or where you bought it. Very small shops can limit returns to the brands they stock.
- Mehrweg bottles are more particular. A machine may refuse a bottle type the shop doesn't sell — the Getränkemarkt is the safest place for glass and crates.
Phrases at the Machine
Where is the bottle return?
Wo ist der Leergutautomat?
Is there a deposit on this?
Ist da Pfand drauf?
The machine is full.
Der Automat ist voll.
The machine won't take this bottle.
Der Automat nimmt die Flasche nicht.
Can I cash in the receipt?
Kann ich den Pfandbon einlösen?
Do you take crates?
Nehmen Sie Kästen an?
Practice these words
Wo ist der Leergutautomat?
Quick note: Der Automat ist voll is a sentence you'll say more often than you expect, usually on a Saturday afternoon. Staff will empty it, but you may have to wait.
Bottles Without a Deposit
Wine bottles, jam jars and many spirits bottles carry no Pfand. These go into the public Glascontainer, sorted by colour: Weißglas (clear), Grünglas (green) and Braunglas (brown). Blue and other colours go in with the green.
Don't use the glass bins on Sundays, public holidays, or late at night. Most containers have a sign listing permitted hours, usually weekdays from about 7:00 to 19:00 or 20:00. Breaking glass is noise, and noise at the wrong time is the fastest way to meet your neighbours for the wrong reason.
What to Know About Pfand Culture
Pfand gehört daneben. "Deposit bottles go next to the bin." When Germans finish a bottle in a park or at a station, many don't throw it away or carry it home — they stand it next to the bin. People who collect bottles for the deposit money can then take them without digging through rubbish. It's a small, widely followed social habit, and once you notice it you'll see it everywhere.
The bottle bag in the hallway. Most German homes have a corner, a cupboard or a bag where empties collect until someone takes them back. Taking the Leergut back is its own small chore on the weekly list.
It works. Returned deposit bottles and cans are recovered at very high rates, far above what most voluntary recycling systems achieve. That's why the system keeps being extended rather than scrapped.
Three Mistakes to Avoid
Throwing Pfand bottles in the bin. You're throwing away 25 cents each — and someone else would have taken them.
Crushing cans before returning them. The machine can't read a crushed barcode and will reject it.
Losing the Pfandbon. It usually ends up at the bottom of a shopping bag. No receipt, no money.