Berlin is once again seeing a noticeable rise in unusable clothing donations in clothing banks. On 1 November 2026, affected operators and waste disposal companies reported that heavily soiled or damaged items, and items disposed of incorrectly, make sorting more difficult and drive up costs. Charitable clothing banks are unable to make use of an increasing proportion of the items deposited and have to pay to dispose of them as well.
The Berlin City Mission its Textile Harbour: according to earlier figures, up to a tonne of unusable goods accumulates there each week, depending on the volume of donations. Those responsible are also currently describing full collection points and a falling proportion of clothing that is actually wearable. rbb24 has documented similar scenes on the ground in Berlin.
The Berlin City Cleaning Service points to the separate collection requirement for used textiles, which has been in force since 1 January 2025. separate collection requirement Clean, wearable items should be reused; only textiles that can no longer be used should go through the designated disposal channels. BSR has established recycling centres and neighbourhood collection days as free drop-off points, and stipulates that containers must be emptied as needed and at least once a week. Nevertheless, operators say transport and sorting costs are rising because the proportion of incorrectly discarded items remains high.
The facts are clear: the proportion of usable donations is falling, extra work and costs are rising, and social services are coming under pressure. Reasons cited include not only donors’ lack of awareness but also an increase in fast-fashion items with a short lifespan. Experts predict that, without intervention, the volume of waste requiring disposal will continue to rise.
Several measures are being discussed in response: first, stricter checks on collection sites and clearer rules for commercial clothing banks; second, more public information on how to donate items correctly; and third, expanding reuseschemes within local authority services, for example through swap shops or by directing items to clothing banks. The relevant Berlin authorities will decide on any policy measures.
The advice for households in Berlin remains unchanged: put only clean, dry, wearable clothing in clothing banks, or take it directly to social collection points, recycling centres or Berlin City Cleaning Service neighbourhood collection days. Damaged or wet textiles should not go in the containers, as this could prevent other items from being reused. This can improve reuse rates and limit additional disposal costs for charitable organisations.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).