Five recycling centers are available to the citizens of Heidelberg for the delivery of many recyclable materials. They are open 47 and 42 hours a week respectively.
No deliveries possible for citizens outside Heidelberg
Deliveries from outside Heidelberg are not permitted. Deliveries with a vehicle with a license plate from outside Heidelberg are possible without any problems if the origin of the waste from a Heidelberg household can be proven with a suitable document. Suitable documents can be, for example, an identity card, the rental contract or the waste fee notice.
Addresses and opening times
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).
Recycling yard
Opening times*
Address/phone (where available)
Geographic coordinates
Kirchheim (K)
Monday to Friday: 8am to 4pm, Saturday: 8am to 3pm
(opening times Recyclingkaufhaus Monday to Friday: 9am to 3.45pm Saturday, 9am to 2.45pm)
Oftersheimer Weg Phone 06221 141050 ‘Recyclingkaufhaus’ recycling store: Phone 06221 141054 (open Mon-Fri 9 am to 4 pm, Sat 9 am to 3 pm)
*The recycling yards are closed on Sundays and national holidays.
What waste is accepted where
The recycling yards do not accept any residual waste (Restmüll) or biowaste (Bioabfall)
‘Kurpfälzer Erden’ garden and potting composts are available from all recycling yards
Type of waste
K
W
E
H
Z
Charge applies?
Clothes
X
X
X
X
X
Car tires (max. 4 tires)
X
X
X
X
X
€ 4,80 per tire
Truck tires (max. 4 tires)
X
X
€ 20 plus VAT per tire
Aluminum
X
X
X
X
X
Batteries
X
X
X
X
X
Recyclable construction waste
X
X
X
X
X
€ 4 per car trunk load
Non-recyclable construction waste (max. 100 kilograms)
X
X
X
X
X
€ 14,60
Brown, green and clear glass
X
X
X
X
X
CDs and DVDs
X
X
X
X
X
Electronic devices (large)
X
X
Electronic devices (small – no more than 25 cm in any one dimension)
X
X
X
X
X
Energy-saving light bulbs
X
X
X
X
X
Flat glass
X
X
€ 4 per car trunk load
Garden waste
X
X
X
X
X
‘Yellow bags’ (gelbe Säcke)
X
X
X
X
X
Wood
X
X
X
X
X
€ 4 per car trunk load
Corks
X
X
X
X
X
Plastics
X
X
X
X
X
Fluorescent tubes
X
X
X
X
X
Metals
X
X
X
X
X
Paper, card and cardboard
X
X
X
X
X
Pollutants (normal household quantities)
X
X
Bulky waste
X
X
X
€ 4 per car trunk load
Telecommunications devices
X
X
Carpets
X
X
X
€ 4 per car trunk load
Charges
You can bring up to one cubic meter of green waste, paper, non-flat glass, lightweight packaging (‘yellow bags’), plastics and scrap metal to a recycling yard free of charge.
Recyclable construction waste, bulky items, wood, carpets, flat glass, tree trunks and roots can be taken to a recycling yard for € 4 for up to one car trunk load, or € 8 for a van, or a car with a trailer.
Taking non-recyclable construction waste to a recycling yard (no more than 100 kilograms will be accepted) costs € 10 per load.
Up to 4 car tires can be disposed of at a recycling yard for € 2.90 per tire, or 4 truck tires for € 6 plus VAT per tire.
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 for €4 per car trunk load (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.
The Delivery is only possible from Monday to Friday. Commercial deliveries are not possible on Saturdays.
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.
Please note that
to ask you to note that deliveries of recyclable materials and green waste to the Heidelberg recycling centres are Die Stadt bittet um Beachtung, dass eine Anlieferung von Wertstoffen und Grünabfällen an den Heidelberger Recyclinghöfen für Gewerbetreibende nur von Montag bis Freitag möglich ist. Am Samstag ist keine gewerbliche Anlieferung möglich.
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.
Waste from households in Heidelberg, delivered by a commercial enterprise
Commercial enterprises wishing to deliver waste from Heidelberg households are requested to bring a confirmation from the client about the origin of the waste. The form can simply be printed out, signed and brought along with the delivery.
