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Forgive me I don't know the names of those bins inside supermarkets and shops that take bottles and give you money or a shopping discount, but I think they are called "pfand" in German (let me know in the comments if you kow!). It would be nice for the EU to incentivize recycling through this method and very often states don't want to spend momney on that.
It is usually a rare choice taken by towns or supermarket. It is already very popular in the North of Europe, and it should be spread everywhere.
As, unfortunately, there still are many people that don't see the the benefits of recylcing, this could be a motivation to start recycling.
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Here's how it works in Finland:
When you buy a beverage, you pay a deposit, which is included in the price. The deposit is 10-40 cents depending on the size. Almost all bottles and cans (plastic, glass and aluminum) are in this system because otherwise the manufacturers have to pay a tax of 51 cents/litre.
You can return the bottles in almost all stores that sell them. Most have a machine for it, in smaller places the staff takes them. You get a receipt that gives you a discount on your next purchase from the store, be it food or whatever. The bottles and cans are then recycled.
Almost everyone recycles their bottles and cans since they have paid the deposit. You can get something like 5 euros per large bag.
When people are drinking outdoors, for example on May Day, they tend to leave the bottles and cans lying on the ground. But other people (youth, unemployed, pensioners...) come collect and return them, since they get to keep the money. Almost none are left behind. Woks great!
It was the same system in Hungary for a while, but suddenly - from one day to another - it had disappeared. Now we have some selective waste collection bins around the towns, but not enough and almost nothing on smaller villages. I prefer the method described above extended with the idea that I would like to see my money back to my credit card, and not ona printed paper - which I have to hold with myself, and pay attention not to forget when i pay
Or maybe instead of giving the money back in the credit card they should make a card that works with any machines at a national or European level, and then you give it when paying your grocery. It might be a utopian project for its extension though
And of course the receipt is not environmentally friendly..
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The deposit system is insanely effective in motivating people to recycle. The return rates in Finland in 2020 were:
94 % of cans
92 % of PET bottles
87 % of glass bottles.
Source and more info: https://www.palpa.fi/beverage-container-recycling/deposit-refund-system/
Thank you so much for commenting this and providing data!
That's exactly what I meant: it works great as people are motivated to recycle. As I said it's quite common in the North of Europe, but unfortunately not in the South (I'm Italian), although some private companies started adopting this system. Yet people might be skeptical as they have to pay a deposit, it's just the typical fear of "the new".
Thank you again for your insights.
We had something very similar in past, but the "programs" lost the state support. Recently the ministry of environment of SVK did try to push it back to reality, but got postponed due to budget "issue".
Obviously a good program, an does not need to "re-invent the wheel".
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in Germany we have a "Pfand"-System since - if my information ist correct - 2003.
One aspect is that plastic bottles for one time use have a higher pfand than reusables (like glass). We also have Pfand Systems for car batteries or gas bottles.
I think there is no disadvantage of this besides a little bit more effort in the shops and industry but on the other side a huge environmental impact.
I prefer to extend the system to for example: Coffee 2 go cups (there are already some trials), plastic bags or others.
One aspect that should not be underestimated is a social one. In Germany you see a lot of people, mostly homeless or poor, walking through cities or going to events like Bundesliga-Games or concerts, collecting bottles and earning a little bit money by that.
The first time I've seen this system it has been in Germany indeed, and afterwards in Denmark. Unfortunately, I've never seen it in my country, Italy, although I heard that somewhere they are testing it, but people don't seem happy about it. It should be expanded on a national basis or it wouldn't work as it would be expensive for those who employ it.
Expanding it for coffee to go cups would be a nice idea, I didn't think of it!
I don't see negative sides: it is an incentive not to throw them away with other non-recycling items, not to throw them on public floor or, even if some will always do so, there will also be people who will pick them up, making the place cleaner.
Thank you for your insight!
An example of privately-run coffee cup deposit systems is RECUP https://recup.de/ , supported by 2800 shops around Germany. The project is also starting with REBOWL (a bowl with deposit, for take-away food)
Another notable project is coffee TO GO again https://www.coffee-to-go-again.de/ , supported by 300 shops around Germany, which isn’t a deposit system but rather a statement of shops that they’ll fill cups that consumers bring with them.
This is a commendable idea, that should be encouraged everywhere. I think it should be studied why some member states don't do this (corporate lobbying?) and if EU should step in with a directive to impose some penalty for non-refundable bottles and cans.
I am horrified when I read in the papers about plans for EU to start regulating plastic bottles so that they have an extra piece of plastic that attach the bottle to the cap. The idea is of course to reduce number of separate pieces ending up in the nature and the oceans, but the end result is more plastic waste. Let's not punish every country (and the environment) just because the French are too lazy to collect their bottles. A Pfand system would be superior in every way.
I would be over the moon if the EU and the member states would stand up against the packaging industry and the false illusion of selective waste collection being a solution. I fully support collecting and reusing glass and plastic bottles. It would be also welcome to see some re-education of the consumers. In most parts of the EU high quality tap water is available and we could reduce waste by drinking tap water instead of bottled water. Drinking excessive amount of soft drinks is also unhealthy, it would be great on multiple levels to reduce that as well.
Szerintem jó ötlet! A betét díjat növelném és egy olyan platformon teríteném vissza ami nem volt specifikus, mint egy cafetéria kártya.
Szerintem jó ötlet! A betét díjat növelném és egy olyan platformon teríteném vissza ami nem volt specifikus, mint egy cafetéria kártya.
Agree with this. Have this in Lithuania. Let me say this first. When it was introduced it was just wondering how clean the areas got, especially in rural ones. It's quite hard now to find a bottle laying around.
It's a win-win for everybody, except maybe business because it has to invest in these machines and store the bottles. So, there will always be some resistance from the business community, maybe some subsidizing could help with adoption.
But this is actually one of the easiest things to do, just collect the bottles and recycle. We are not talking about some cutting-edge technology that needs to be developed. The experience and knowledge are there, just need to use it. This is one of the first things that should be done.
EU SHOULD MAKE IT MANDATORY FOR ALL MEMBERS TO HAVE THIS SYSTEM.
Let me repeat - THIS IS THE LOWEST HANGING FRUIT.
Il riciclaggio degli imballaggi per bevande funziona all'estero,
Anche negli altri paesi nordici, gli imballaggi per bevande vengono riciclati tramite un sistema di stoccaggio nazionale e generale, come in GERMANIA. e questa cosa è un esempio per gli altri stati membri dell'UE
Ulteriori opzioni per il riciclaggio degli imballaggi per bevande sono i sistemi di stoccaggio delle catene di vendita al dettaglio, la selezione facoltativa come con altri rifiuti domestici e la selezione negli impianti di trattamento dei rifiuti. #salvatorecirillosasa #unitiue
La idea es buena, pero la UE necesita una Constitucion para crear la Union Europea Federal. La Convencion de Ciudadanos el 29 de octubre, hablo de la transformacion del exito de la Union Europea, desde que en 1950 Schumann hizo la declaracion preparatoria que llevaria a la fundacion del MC (Mercado Comun) en 1957. Luego vino la CEE (Comunidad Economica Europea) y a principios de los años 90 se convirtio en la Union Europea. Y ahora estamos haciendo Historia con la futura UEF (Union Europea Federal)
La FAEF (Federal Alliance of European Federalists) ha empezado este proyecto convocando una Convencion de Ciudadanos para debatir y ratificar una Constitucion para la Union Europea Federal. Aqui el enlace de la Convencion:
https://www.faef.eu/en_gb/citizens-convention/
Ademas el proximo dia 06 de noviembre a las 13.00 horas hay un evento y podemos debatir sobre el tema. Aqui el enlace del evento:
https://futureu.europa.eu/processes/EUInTheWorld/f/17/meetings/70655
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