AFG-Recycling has accompanied all well-known mineral springs for decades - from glass bottles to PET bottles, from reusable to disposable - and knows the needs of its partners and customers very well. We have remained an owner-managed, down-to-earth medium-sized company that combines both: continuous development and closeness to the customer, for whom we want to be the best partner.

Beginning as a wholesaler for the beverage industry

AFG-Recycling started in 1954 as a wholesaler for the beverage industry. The founder was Herbert Stevens, who came from an entrepreneurial family in Trier, customers were mineral fountains, wine and champagne goods and beer breweries.

Reliable partner for packaging

In the context of the enormous economic growth of the post-war years, the company traded, among other things, with packaging for the beverage industry: at that time only glass bottles, corks, wire closures and crown corks as well as gas-tight screw closures for CO 2 -containing beverages and machine technology for the winery industry.

Development of new techniques

The introduction of the pearl bottle at the end of the 1960s completely changed the market for mineral fountains. Refilling the glass bottles laid the foundation for the reusable system that still exists in Germany today. Initially only aluminum closures were used as the closure system, but one-piece plastic closures made of PE (polyethylene) were added a few years later. By taking back and refilling the glass bottles, the companies were now increasingly confronted with the storage, disposal and recycling of a wide variety of materials. With well-known manufacturers of closure systems, technologies were developed in the early 1970s so that the closures made of high-quality materials could be used for a new purpose after processing.

New customers from the mineral water industry

In the course of this technological development, many well-known companies in the mineral water industry were acquired as customers who are still customers of AFG-Recycling to this day. The company increasingly shifted from wholesaling for the beverage industry to the disposal and recycling of recyclable materials in the beverage industry.

Growth spurt after reunification

With reunification in 1990, many producers from the old federal states invested in the new markets. As a result, the reusable beverage pool developed enormously and many new waste collection points in the new federal states ensured a surge in growth in the company. With the introduction of the reusable PET bottle in the early 1990s, new recyclable materials arose for disposal and recycling, especially the PP (polypropylene) screw cap.

Experience plus innovation: the next generation

Since 2011, our company has been operating under the brand name AFG-Recycling, with the first letters standing for the non-alcoholic beverage industry. The new brand name was not only associated with the next generation of entrepreneurs, but also documents the creation of new, higher-quality value chains in the recycling of materials. Today Winfried Stevens and his son Jens Stevens run AFG-Recycling together.