"Abfall" (waste) and "Abfallrecht" (waste law) are relatively modern terms in the German language. The issue itself though - waste management and rules governing it - at least dates back to the beginnings of urban history. The article, written on the occasion of Prof. Gerhard Dilcher's retirement as emeritus of Frankfurt University, outlines the development of waste law in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day. The author concentrates here, apart from the type and contents of norms, also on the underlying social conditions and the question of municipal, private, or co-operative responsibility for waste disposal. As a conclusion, he ventures to give the prospects for German waste law in the time to come and raises the question whether not only the resources but also the law undergoes a cyclical process...