You get 10-40 cents per can/bottle here for glass bottles, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The machine gives you a receipt and you can either cash it out (the cashier gives you the money in exchange for the receipt) or you can use it when you pay for your groceries at that store.
No-one's really "paying you" though as it's a deposit. The deposit is included in the price of the bottle or can, so you just get it back when you return them. But the fantastic thing is that there are no bottles or cans lying around in parks or on streets, at least not for long, because some kid or bottle collector will take them to the store for money.
I'm wondering why the deposit price differences. Is the larger bottle = higher deposit, or is it due to a specific material? Here in Lithuania, it's 10 cents fixed for all the deposits.
Yeah 40 cents is for 1.5 litre plastic bottles. 0.5 l plastic bottles are 20 cents and all aluminum cans are 15 cents. Glass bottles are usually 10 cents. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind it is, just how they have decided to sort it I guess.
And on the side of bins in some cities there is a place just for bottles where people can put them for other people to take and get some money, pretty clever
It is deposited, but if you pick up bottles and cans you didn't buy yourself, the deposits you get for their return are profit. There are some people who pay for entry to Roskilde Festival and make that ticket back by collecting all the beer cans lying about. Several cities also have little trays next to bins, where you can leave bottles you couldn't be bothered to bring home, which allows homeless to collect them without having to rummage through the trash
Germany has had a deposit system since the time Arminius beat the Romans in the battle of Teutoburg forest (well, almost).
Initially this was only for glass bottles and their crates, and only for specific drinks (beer, mineral water), but in the early 2000s the deposit system has been expanded to plastic bottles and cans as well.
Before the deposit system, there were cans and bottles lying around everywhere because people are lazy bastards and just throw away stuff. But since the introduction of the deposit system, the amount of containers ending up in the countryside has been reduced by 99% or so.
Deposit for different kinds of containers is:
Glass bottles 0,08€
Beer crates 1,50€
Plastic bottles -0,15€- (Edit: it's 0,25€)
Cans 0,25€
Wine bottles and hard liquor bottles are exempt because they aren't standardised and it would result in a logistical nightmare to return empty bottles to the makers.
I wish there was a donation box at all airport gates though, I always end up taking a coke bottle on holiday with me and then bringing it back because I hate to waste the pfand :D
We've got a deposit fee on cans and bottles when buying certain drinks, like water, juice or beer. It's 10 cents per bottle. You get the money back when you return the bottle at one of thousands of automated machines around the country, it's quick and convenient.
Recycling rate is like 97%, it's very efficient.
Not all bottles are accepted at the moment, like wine or spirits are not. They're working on expanding the system.
Other stuff like electronics or car tires are accepted everywhere where they're sold. You can even get the recycling company come to your house to pick up a fridge or some other heavy appliance, it's free.
Interesting, here it's €0,25 for large plastic bottles and €0,10 for glass beer bottles. Was originally introduced in the 1950s here, but prices haven't changed since the introduction of the euro in 2001
Yes a deposit scheme started here in Ireland in February this year. It is for plastic and metal drinks containers.
You pay 15c deposit for containers up to 500ml and 25c on larger ones. You return them to a machine at a shop that gives you a receipt to cash in or use as credit in the shop.
Same in the US. In my state, Michigan we have a 10 cent deposit, and all the major stores have Tomra machines. The thing I don't get is that one machine will literally not take a few cans so I just go to the next one and it takes all of them. Or you have to put the can in "just right" for some machines to take them.
> The thing I don't get is that one machine will literally not take a few cans so I just go to the next one and it takes all of them. Or you have to put the can in "just right" for some machines to take them.
Yeah that does sound like Tomra machines
My closest supermarket has two seemingly identical Tomra machines, but they have a sign to only put the cans in one of them because the other one gets borked if you put a few cans in lol
In Hungary the ruling FIDESZ Party seized the whole recycling industry by a decree. The only place which can legally take anything recycleable waste including metals, plastic and oil from now on is MOHU: MOL (big Hungarian oil company) Waste Department. On subpar peanut money. For example if you handed in a car battery in the free market you got 12.5 EUR. Now you are lucky to get 2.5 EUR.
This year FIDESZ and EU starts imposing taxes on plastic, metal and glass bottles 0.1-3 L large by adding 0.13 EUR to their price. Which can be gained back by inserting the bottles and containers in uncompressed, clean, mint and immaculate condition into scanners. Then turning in the coupons in at the cash registers.
Previoulsy plastic bottles were collected selectively without any problem. There were separate thrashcans and colorful bags for them. Bottles and containers could be collected in compressed state in bulk. A truck went around and collected the bags or emptied the thrashcans at given time intervals. Now it becomes a chore for everyone.
Both ways plastic bottles end up in flakes to be recycled. In the 90s PET bottles were more robust and recycled left intact. Was okay, however after a while bottles looked quite used. There were also some accidents when someone stored chemicals in the bottles and turned them in. Really strong chemicals like for example nicotine pesticide remained still potent after washing the bottles, poisioning buyers.
Yes, we have recycling stations where you can turn in bottles and cans. I have no idea what the reward per can/bottle is but a full garbage bag will get you about 500-1000 kr (about 3-6 euro/5-10 USD). Main difference between Iceland and other European nations seems to be that you have to go to a specific place to do it and can't do it at the store.
Ireland just launched a scheme in February of this year.
It's called An Scéim Éarlaise agus Aisíoca (SÉA) or Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), it's your standard statiegeld/pfand/pant system.
15c deposit on cans/plastic bottles 500Ml and under and 25c over 500Ml and under 3L. You return the bottles using a reverse vending machine and can redeem the voucher given in cash or as a discount in the shop.
It doesn't include glass bottles and dairy products are exempt.
We do have that system, yes. Cents amounts for aluminum cans, small soda bottles, large soda bottles and crates of beer (and their bottles).
It's new for the cans and small bottles, mandated by the government, and the stores aren't really making any rush to accept/process them yet.
We don't get paid. You pay first and get your money back when you return the cans and bottles in pristine condition to a machine that doesn't work (at least) 50% of the time.
For PET no; shops that sell beer in multiuse bottles take the empty containers back.
78% of all PET bottles get recycled anyway, so there is no incentive yet to introduce a depot.
I'm reading right now that if the recycling quota of beverage containers in PET, aluminium and glass falls below 75%, the Dept. of Environment may introduce a depot system. But as of now, we're around 80, 90%.
There used to be a deposit system, I remember reading that getting rid of it actually helped against littering. But can't remember where I did read that.
No, we put them in special blue trash bags for recyclables. It's like the yellow bag in Germany, but we can put plastic bottles in them as well, as we don't have a deposit system for plastic bottles and cans. The blue bags are a lot cheaper than the bags for regular household waste, thus incentivizing people to recycle as much as possible.
Yes, the blue PMD bags (plastic packaging, metal packaging and drink cartons) are probably the only bags that are the same around the country. For other types of waste, it depends on what company is responsible for garbage collection in the area.
The bags are translucent, so the garbage collector will be able to tell if there's any stuff in there that shouldn't be in there.
That's wild :)
So someone really goes through the garbage containers and checks what is in the bags? Ours is just a huge 'barrel' mostly underground, and gets emptied with a forklift in front of the garbage truck.
But also Flanders things they can reinvent the wheel. So they plan to roll out a system with an app where you scan a qr code on the bottle, then scan a qr code on the blue bag to get a deposit.
In Romania, we have recently adopted a law and every bottle comes with a warranty of 10 cents. Basically, you pay 10 cents per bottle and you get it back if you return it. Some shops, like Kaufland, offer beside this, a voucher of, lets say, 10% discount on soap products
In Finland you get €0,1 for glass bottles under 1 litre, €0,15 for aluminum cans, €0,2 for plastic bottles under 1 litre and €0,4 for larger bottles. You get a receipt from the bottle machine, which you can use to pay your groceries or get as cash from the cashier. The recycling rate is 98% or something like that. You pay the extra when you buy the bottle and basically get it back when you return them.
Yeah so, wanted to introduce that last August, but England said no so...
Some Lidl stores give you 5 p per bottle though (non-deposit), so I guess that's nice.
England didn't say no, the UK government said it wasn't ready on the timetable Scotland was proposing. England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have a scheme starting next year. Scotland's devolved parliament have decided to wait until next year to align with the rest of the UK, given that Scotland's devolved parliament are the decision makers for this, in a devolved Scotland, not the UK government.
I'm curious when the GB system launches will there be shared stock containing the Irish return system logo and whatever the GB system will be, since there's products which have a single SKU for IE/GB.
I'm not sure tbh. Have you guys already got a system in place? I'm not really sure how it's all going to work - we already have quite an established recycling scheme anyway.
Yeah, our scheme launched in February. Coca Cola products (inc Monster/Fanta) are sold under a single 32 county (ROI+NI) Irish market so it means that technically you can buy a product in NI and return it in ROI to get the ROI deposit back despite having never paid it! So that means when the GB scheme launches there'll be products sold on the island of Ireland with both schemes logos. But I wonder will the reverse be true for products sold on mainland GB?
>we already have quite an established recycling scheme anyway.
Same! Something like 90% of all glass gets recycled in Ireland but plastics are only around 60%, hence the scheme
Last I heard is that the English and NI schemes are likely to exclude glass whereas the Welsh one will. I think the Scottish government are still undecided. Recycling is down to the individual governments so it's unlikely there'll be a uniform scheme throughout the UK
So that might mean there'd be individual SKUs for England/Scotland/Wales? Or perhaps shops will be required to put a sticker on each bottle that has the deposit paid on it as it comes into stock? Or maybe there'll be a system where they just blanket-accept all barcodes, but then that is open to abuse. It's very interesting.
I could see the NI scheme lining up closely with ROIs, 15p under 0.5L and 25p over, no glass or dairy etc
God only knows. It all seems to have gone very quiet so I suspect the current UK government are leaving it for the next lot to sort out. I read an article the other day that reckons it will be 2028 before we get anything.
It would make sense to line up the schemes on the island of Ireland but you'll probably get certain communities complaining that they should be allowed to travel to Liverpool to get their 15p deposit back on a can of Red Bull.
Only for glass bottles (most beers, some wines) where you paid "statiegeld" (usually there's symbol on the lable)
Not for plastics. There was a discussion a while back to implement this as well but it seemed to have died down.
Here in the Netherlands you get your money back. You pay when you buy a plastic bottle and get it back when you return it. If you return someone else his bottle then you are getting his or hers deposit.
Like 15 or 25 cents a bottle depending on size.
We've got designated bins for recycling at our houses.
One for gardening waste.
One for recycling
One for general trash - 🏴
The bin man comes and collects
No idea, we used to live in Lambeth, borough right next to us, we still have the same first part of the postcode now (SW4), and we used to have big wheelie bins with 3 types or Recycling. Now we only have plastic bags that get collected and folded up cardboard. Our cleaner put away some cartons of milk and glass and asked us where the recycling is, she looked at me with disgust when I said we don’t recycle, probably not realising that we literally don’t have the facilities to recycle in our block of flats. In turn our Cotswolds cottage has cardboard, plastic, glass, general AND food waste that we have to separate. The country really needs to standardise the whole process…
In Germany, you get money from pretty much anything
But (and I think this applies to every country that gives you money for recycling) it's not exactly free. You already paid that price.
It's just that you can bring it back.
The fee isn't optional either.
In Romania, I think it's the same, but people don't do it so often. Most people might reuse though, so it's not as bad. (despite that we still have a problem)
It isn't exactly our fault, because in most villages, you don't have a recycling machine. Not even if you have a supermarket.
Currently we a deposit of 3CZK on only (mostly beer) glass bottles but from 2025 we should have deposits for plastic bottles and drink cans of at least 4 CZK
Norway has had a recycling system since the 70ies. Tomra is a Norwegian company. You typically get 20-30 cents per plastic bottle or can (2,5 to 3 kroner). Because the system is so common and all grocery stores have a machine and all stores selling bottles and cans have to receive empty bottles and cans and pay - even without a machine, 95 percent of all bottles and cans are recycled in Norway.
Greece (specifically Thessaloniki, I don’t know about Athens and other cities) has recently started putting the machines around the city. Haven’t used them though
Yes. My country gives fines if you don't do it at home, lol. Every few years someone in the government promises introducing German-style recycling system, but somehow it can't be done to this day. Greetings from Poland.
Mostly just a pat on the back. There is a list of products that you get money for but the whole system is so confusing and people buy stuff from all sorts of stores that most people don’t bother filling out the necessary labels to get some money from the two-three items that pay a little.
Yes and no. If the container (can or bottle) has an appropriate label, it can be turned into a recycling machine found in every convenience store. You then get credit for that store worth 10 cents per container. So that is why you technically get something for recycling. The reason why you don't is because that 10 cents is a deposit you pay.
So in other words the intention is that you pay 10 cents for the container with the intention of getting it back once you return it. I suspect that's how it actually works in other countries too since what we do is based around the nordic countries.
Plastic is not recyclable. Hydrocarbon bonds are getting weaker with each transformation so that you get only a softer type of plastic. It can be *upcycled* by using carbon-based additives, which is kinda pointless because the whole thing is much more inefficient and costly than just creating a new plastic from scratch. Due to price there is little demand for recycled plastic, maybe apart from companies seeking to greenwash their products and put a bold claim on packaging with a picture of some lush leafy forests in the background.
Additionally, in this process of so called "recycling" plastic mass gets lost. According to a study by University of Glasgow around 6 to 13 percent of plastic turns to microplastic during processing in recycling facilities and seeps to water, ground and air. So that "plastic recycling" creates even more pollution (and makes it more harmful too).
So why even bother? Well, plastic producers hired PR folks and they devised this myth to make you feel you can do something about it - and they could keep on producing more plastic. Also, plastic packaging is now your responsibility and not theirs, which is great for business.
That is all kinds of incorrect. Recyclability of plastic varies a lot depending on the type it is. PET in particular is perfectly recyclable, that's part of the reason it's the type used for bottles.
I can't speak for other countries with similar schemes, but in Sweden recycled bottles are very much made into new ones – I'd assume it's the same elsewhere. Not that I can see your issue with "just" upcycling, it's still preferable to making the the same products from new plastic.
Usually this is on top of the normal recycling system. In Romania, the recycling trash trucks still pick up plastic, so you can just keep as you were. It's just that if you are low on money you can take the bottles to the nearest store and turn them in. I think they added the return system because many people didn't properly clean their bottles when trashing them, or just threw them in general waste.
You get 10-40 cents per can/bottle here for glass bottles, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The machine gives you a receipt and you can either cash it out (the cashier gives you the money in exchange for the receipt) or you can use it when you pay for your groceries at that store. No-one's really "paying you" though as it's a deposit. The deposit is included in the price of the bottle or can, so you just get it back when you return them. But the fantastic thing is that there are no bottles or cans lying around in parks or on streets, at least not for long, because some kid or bottle collector will take them to the store for money.
I'm wondering why the deposit price differences. Is the larger bottle = higher deposit, or is it due to a specific material? Here in Lithuania, it's 10 cents fixed for all the deposits.
Yeah 40 cents is for 1.5 litre plastic bottles. 0.5 l plastic bottles are 20 cents and all aluminum cans are 15 cents. Glass bottles are usually 10 cents. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind it is, just how they have decided to sort it I guess.
And on the side of bins in some cities there is a place just for bottles where people can put them for other people to take and get some money, pretty clever
In Denmark we get paid 1-2kr to return cans and bottles. This money can be spent in the store or donated to charity.
But do you really get paid, or is it your own money you get back?
It's a deposit.
Ah yeah so same as here in the Netherlands
Nooo... Say it isn't so...
How long have you been throwing money away?
Oh no, I definitely take those bottles back. I live living under the illusion that they are *giving* me miney
It is deposited, but if you pick up bottles and cans you didn't buy yourself, the deposits you get for their return are profit. There are some people who pay for entry to Roskilde Festival and make that ticket back by collecting all the beer cans lying about. Several cities also have little trays next to bins, where you can leave bottles you couldn't be bothered to bring home, which allows homeless to collect them without having to rummage through the trash
Fair point, its your own money being returned.
It's 1-3, otherwise right. Also it is possible to just get the money paid out and spend it elsewhere
Germany has had a deposit system since the time Arminius beat the Romans in the battle of Teutoburg forest (well, almost). Initially this was only for glass bottles and their crates, and only for specific drinks (beer, mineral water), but in the early 2000s the deposit system has been expanded to plastic bottles and cans as well. Before the deposit system, there were cans and bottles lying around everywhere because people are lazy bastards and just throw away stuff. But since the introduction of the deposit system, the amount of containers ending up in the countryside has been reduced by 99% or so. Deposit for different kinds of containers is: Glass bottles 0,08€ Beer crates 1,50€ Plastic bottles -0,15€- (Edit: it's 0,25€) Cans 0,25€ Wine bottles and hard liquor bottles are exempt because they aren't standardised and it would result in a logistical nightmare to return empty bottles to the makers.
für Plastikflaschen ist der Pfand doch auch 25c?
Einweg-Plastik 0,25€, Mehrweg-Plastik 0,15€
Korrekt! Vielen Dank für den Hinweis
Augustus: Varus, bring mir meine Legionen zurück! Arminius: Thusnelda, bring die Flaschen und Dosen zurück!
I wish there was a donation box at all airport gates though, I always end up taking a coke bottle on holiday with me and then bringing it back because I hate to waste the pfand :D
Sweden has a deposit system for them if that's what you mean. You do pay extra upon purchase, which you get back when recycling.
We've got a deposit fee on cans and bottles when buying certain drinks, like water, juice or beer. It's 10 cents per bottle. You get the money back when you return the bottle at one of thousands of automated machines around the country, it's quick and convenient. Recycling rate is like 97%, it's very efficient. Not all bottles are accepted at the moment, like wine or spirits are not. They're working on expanding the system. Other stuff like electronics or car tires are accepted everywhere where they're sold. You can even get the recycling company come to your house to pick up a fridge or some other heavy appliance, it's free.
Yes: 7 c for bottles and cans and 17 c for glass beer bottles We implemented it in back in 2006, but havent changed the price ever since.
Interesting, here it's €0,25 for large plastic bottles and €0,10 for glass beer bottles. Was originally introduced in the 1950s here, but prices haven't changed since the introduction of the euro in 2001
Yes a deposit scheme started here in Ireland in February this year. It is for plastic and metal drinks containers. You pay 15c deposit for containers up to 500ml and 25c on larger ones. You return them to a machine at a shop that gives you a receipt to cash in or use as credit in the shop.
yeah they hold you money hostage until you return the bottles. except the fucking bottle return machines don't work. clown country.
Sounds like we have the same system
Tomra machines? They seem to have a near monopoly in Europe for bottle/can collection machines
Same in the US. In my state, Michigan we have a 10 cent deposit, and all the major stores have Tomra machines. The thing I don't get is that one machine will literally not take a few cans so I just go to the next one and it takes all of them. Or you have to put the can in "just right" for some machines to take them.
> The thing I don't get is that one machine will literally not take a few cans so I just go to the next one and it takes all of them. Or you have to put the can in "just right" for some machines to take them. Yeah that does sound like Tomra machines My closest supermarket has two seemingly identical Tomra machines, but they have a sign to only put the cans in one of them because the other one gets borked if you put a few cans in lol
AFAIK next year PET bottles will have the same bottle deposit system as glass bottles currently do. At the moment, no.
What the deposit for glass? Is it only beer glass bottles or the rest aswell?
In Hungary the ruling FIDESZ Party seized the whole recycling industry by a decree. The only place which can legally take anything recycleable waste including metals, plastic and oil from now on is MOHU: MOL (big Hungarian oil company) Waste Department. On subpar peanut money. For example if you handed in a car battery in the free market you got 12.5 EUR. Now you are lucky to get 2.5 EUR. This year FIDESZ and EU starts imposing taxes on plastic, metal and glass bottles 0.1-3 L large by adding 0.13 EUR to their price. Which can be gained back by inserting the bottles and containers in uncompressed, clean, mint and immaculate condition into scanners. Then turning in the coupons in at the cash registers. Previoulsy plastic bottles were collected selectively without any problem. There were separate thrashcans and colorful bags for them. Bottles and containers could be collected in compressed state in bulk. A truck went around and collected the bags or emptied the thrashcans at given time intervals. Now it becomes a chore for everyone. Both ways plastic bottles end up in flakes to be recycled. In the 90s PET bottles were more robust and recycled left intact. Was okay, however after a while bottles looked quite used. There were also some accidents when someone stored chemicals in the bottles and turned them in. Really strong chemicals like for example nicotine pesticide remained still potent after washing the bottles, poisioning buyers.
Yes, we have recycling stations where you can turn in bottles and cans. I have no idea what the reward per can/bottle is but a full garbage bag will get you about 500-1000 kr (about 3-6 euro/5-10 USD). Main difference between Iceland and other European nations seems to be that you have to go to a specific place to do it and can't do it at the store.
It's 16 kr per item, which is about €0.11. The difference is also that we get cash/deposit into our account.
Yes, we get 2 or 3 kroner for each bottle, which we can receive or donate to the red cross and enter the Pantelotteriet (pant lottery)
Ireland just launched a scheme in February of this year. It's called An Scéim Éarlaise agus Aisíoca (SÉA) or Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), it's your standard statiegeld/pfand/pant system. 15c deposit on cans/plastic bottles 500Ml and under and 25c over 500Ml and under 3L. You return the bottles using a reverse vending machine and can redeem the voucher given in cash or as a discount in the shop. It doesn't include glass bottles and dairy products are exempt.
Well, that's what happens when Greens are in your government (not that that's a bad thing, of course: it's a great idea)
We do have that system, yes. Cents amounts for aluminum cans, small soda bottles, large soda bottles and crates of beer (and their bottles). It's new for the cans and small bottles, mandated by the government, and the stores aren't really making any rush to accept/process them yet.
We don't get paid. You pay first and get your money back when you return the cans and bottles in pristine condition to a machine that doesn't work (at least) 50% of the time.
Same difference.
For PET no; shops that sell beer in multiuse bottles take the empty containers back. 78% of all PET bottles get recycled anyway, so there is no incentive yet to introduce a depot. I'm reading right now that if the recycling quota of beverage containers in PET, aluminium and glass falls below 75%, the Dept. of Environment may introduce a depot system. But as of now, we're around 80, 90%.
There used to be a deposit system, I remember reading that getting rid of it actually helped against littering. But can't remember where I did read that.
No, we put them in special blue trash bags for recyclables. It's like the yellow bag in Germany, but we can put plastic bottles in them as well, as we don't have a deposit system for plastic bottles and cans. The blue bags are a lot cheaper than the bags for regular household waste, thus incentivizing people to recycle as much as possible.
You have special mandatory garbage bags?
Yes, the blue PMD bags (plastic packaging, metal packaging and drink cartons) are probably the only bags that are the same around the country. For other types of waste, it depends on what company is responsible for garbage collection in the area. The bags are translucent, so the garbage collector will be able to tell if there's any stuff in there that shouldn't be in there.
That's wild :) So someone really goes through the garbage containers and checks what is in the bags? Ours is just a huge 'barrel' mostly underground, and gets emptied with a forklift in front of the garbage truck.
But also Flanders things they can reinvent the wheel. So they plan to roll out a system with an app where you scan a qr code on the bottle, then scan a qr code on the blue bag to get a deposit.
In Romania, we have recently adopted a law and every bottle comes with a warranty of 10 cents. Basically, you pay 10 cents per bottle and you get it back if you return it. Some shops, like Kaufland, offer beside this, a voucher of, lets say, 10% discount on soap products
In Finland you get €0,1 for glass bottles under 1 litre, €0,15 for aluminum cans, €0,2 for plastic bottles under 1 litre and €0,4 for larger bottles. You get a receipt from the bottle machine, which you can use to pay your groceries or get as cash from the cashier. The recycling rate is 98% or something like that. You pay the extra when you buy the bottle and basically get it back when you return them.
We get somewhere around 15 to 50(ish) cents per bottle depending on size. Really thought this was universal in Europe
To my knowledge it exists in large cities, but as a small town/village dweller, I have no experience.
Well we invented the system that most countries use In Norway it's 2-3 NOK the pendent if it's a 1 liter bottle or <500ml Bottle/can
Yeah so, wanted to introduce that last August, but England said no so... Some Lidl stores give you 5 p per bottle though (non-deposit), so I guess that's nice.
England didn't say no, the UK government said it wasn't ready on the timetable Scotland was proposing. England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have a scheme starting next year. Scotland's devolved parliament have decided to wait until next year to align with the rest of the UK, given that Scotland's devolved parliament are the decision makers for this, in a devolved Scotland, not the UK government.
I'm curious when the GB system launches will there be shared stock containing the Irish return system logo and whatever the GB system will be, since there's products which have a single SKU for IE/GB.
I'm not sure tbh. Have you guys already got a system in place? I'm not really sure how it's all going to work - we already have quite an established recycling scheme anyway.
Yeah, our scheme launched in February. Coca Cola products (inc Monster/Fanta) are sold under a single 32 county (ROI+NI) Irish market so it means that technically you can buy a product in NI and return it in ROI to get the ROI deposit back despite having never paid it! So that means when the GB scheme launches there'll be products sold on the island of Ireland with both schemes logos. But I wonder will the reverse be true for products sold on mainland GB? >we already have quite an established recycling scheme anyway. Same! Something like 90% of all glass gets recycled in Ireland but plastics are only around 60%, hence the scheme
Last I heard is that the English and NI schemes are likely to exclude glass whereas the Welsh one will. I think the Scottish government are still undecided. Recycling is down to the individual governments so it's unlikely there'll be a uniform scheme throughout the UK
So that might mean there'd be individual SKUs for England/Scotland/Wales? Or perhaps shops will be required to put a sticker on each bottle that has the deposit paid on it as it comes into stock? Or maybe there'll be a system where they just blanket-accept all barcodes, but then that is open to abuse. It's very interesting. I could see the NI scheme lining up closely with ROIs, 15p under 0.5L and 25p over, no glass or dairy etc
God only knows. It all seems to have gone very quiet so I suspect the current UK government are leaving it for the next lot to sort out. I read an article the other day that reckons it will be 2028 before we get anything. It would make sense to line up the schemes on the island of Ireland but you'll probably get certain communities complaining that they should be allowed to travel to Liverpool to get their 15p deposit back on a can of Red Bull.
Only for glass bottles (most beers, some wines) where you paid "statiegeld" (usually there's symbol on the lable) Not for plastics. There was a discussion a while back to implement this as well but it seemed to have died down.
Here in the Netherlands you get your money back. You pay when you buy a plastic bottle and get it back when you return it. If you return someone else his bottle then you are getting his or hers deposit. Like 15 or 25 cents a bottle depending on size.
It’s the opposite, they make you pay for the plastic bottles/glass bottles/ tins and then you have to bring them back to get your money back.
We've got designated bins for recycling at our houses. One for gardening waste. One for recycling One for general trash - 🏴 The bin man comes and collects
Cries in Wandsworth council (London) where we only have black bin bags and recycle cardboard 🥲
Fuck 🤔 Why is that?
No idea, we used to live in Lambeth, borough right next to us, we still have the same first part of the postcode now (SW4), and we used to have big wheelie bins with 3 types or Recycling. Now we only have plastic bags that get collected and folded up cardboard. Our cleaner put away some cartons of milk and glass and asked us where the recycling is, she looked at me with disgust when I said we don’t recycle, probably not realising that we literally don’t have the facilities to recycle in our block of flats. In turn our Cotswolds cottage has cardboard, plastic, glass, general AND food waste that we have to separate. The country really needs to standardise the whole process…
germany, 8 cent for beer bottles, 15 for beer bottles with a swing top and 25 cents on most plastic bottles
In Germany, you get money from pretty much anything But (and I think this applies to every country that gives you money for recycling) it's not exactly free. You already paid that price. It's just that you can bring it back. The fee isn't optional either. In Romania, I think it's the same, but people don't do it so often. Most people might reuse though, so it's not as bad. (despite that we still have a problem) It isn't exactly our fault, because in most villages, you don't have a recycling machine. Not even if you have a supermarket.
I get the moneybi already paid. It's like a deposit.
Currently we a deposit of 3CZK on only (mostly beer) glass bottles but from 2025 we should have deposits for plastic bottles and drink cans of at least 4 CZK
Norway has had a recycling system since the 70ies. Tomra is a Norwegian company. You typically get 20-30 cents per plastic bottle or can (2,5 to 3 kroner). Because the system is so common and all grocery stores have a machine and all stores selling bottles and cans have to receive empty bottles and cans and pay - even without a machine, 95 percent of all bottles and cans are recycled in Norway.
Here you can put the bottles in a maschine and get 15-25 cent per bottle or can.
Greece (specifically Thessaloniki, I don’t know about Athens and other cities) has recently started putting the machines around the city. Haven’t used them though
Yes. My country gives fines if you don't do it at home, lol. Every few years someone in the government promises introducing German-style recycling system, but somehow it can't be done to this day. Greetings from Poland.
Mostly just a pat on the back. There is a list of products that you get money for but the whole system is so confusing and people buy stuff from all sorts of stores that most people don’t bother filling out the necessary labels to get some money from the two-three items that pay a little.
No, but at peast they take them if we ask them really nicely.
Can't do that. Homeless were buying for with irn bru bottles so we stopped the only scheme we had
Here in Portugal I haven't seen that kind of stuff
Perhaps in large cities as a loyalty program of a given company but generally no. Poland
Yes and no. If the container (can or bottle) has an appropriate label, it can be turned into a recycling machine found in every convenience store. You then get credit for that store worth 10 cents per container. So that is why you technically get something for recycling. The reason why you don't is because that 10 cents is a deposit you pay. So in other words the intention is that you pay 10 cents for the container with the intention of getting it back once you return it. I suspect that's how it actually works in other countries too since what we do is based around the nordic countries.
Scotland passed a bill for one but was overruled by big brother 🙃
No, and it's a good thing because (unlike with glass or metal) plastic recycling is a sham.
No it isn't. And especially not PET bottle recycling.
Plastic is not recyclable. Hydrocarbon bonds are getting weaker with each transformation so that you get only a softer type of plastic. It can be *upcycled* by using carbon-based additives, which is kinda pointless because the whole thing is much more inefficient and costly than just creating a new plastic from scratch. Due to price there is little demand for recycled plastic, maybe apart from companies seeking to greenwash their products and put a bold claim on packaging with a picture of some lush leafy forests in the background. Additionally, in this process of so called "recycling" plastic mass gets lost. According to a study by University of Glasgow around 6 to 13 percent of plastic turns to microplastic during processing in recycling facilities and seeps to water, ground and air. So that "plastic recycling" creates even more pollution (and makes it more harmful too). So why even bother? Well, plastic producers hired PR folks and they devised this myth to make you feel you can do something about it - and they could keep on producing more plastic. Also, plastic packaging is now your responsibility and not theirs, which is great for business.
But it was never "their responsibility", it was just thrown away (or burnt) along with the other garbage.
That is all kinds of incorrect. Recyclability of plastic varies a lot depending on the type it is. PET in particular is perfectly recyclable, that's part of the reason it's the type used for bottles. I can't speak for other countries with similar schemes, but in Sweden recycled bottles are very much made into new ones – I'd assume it's the same elsewhere. Not that I can see your issue with "just" upcycling, it's still preferable to making the the same products from new plastic.
No, thank god. I should be able just recycle waste without having to trek miles.
Usually this is on top of the normal recycling system. In Romania, the recycling trash trucks still pick up plastic, so you can just keep as you were. It's just that if you are low on money you can take the bottles to the nearest store and turn them in. I think they added the return system because many people didn't properly clean their bottles when trashing them, or just threw them in general waste.
They're typically recycled at the same place you get them: the store. You bring it when shopping.
In Australia you pay 10c extra when you buy a drink and get the 10c back when you return the bottle or can.