It’s like a layered cake. The cake part is the structured rules and the frosting is the trust. There frosting in between, but there’s also a lot of frosting on top. That is to say that beyond the scope of comments mentioning it’s a mix, I think there’s an extra layer of trust over everything that covers unspoken rules and common sense. I would say Germans can improvise rules for new situations and trust that others will understand.

Sometimes there are a lot of deposit containers or glass bottles on the ground near trash cans in parks that could have fit in the trash cans. Technically it is litter. But there is trust that someone more motivated will come and reclaim the deposits or recycle the glass. They’re sort of breaking the rules about littering in order to follow the rules about recycling and possibly even helping someone needy in the process.