According to Tomra, 50 regions around the world operate a Deposit Return Scheme for recycling of drinks containers. These include 17 European countries, all Australian states, 10 US states and most of Canada.
Republic of Ireland
The UK’s nearest neighbour, the Republic of Ireland introduced a Deposit Return Scheme in February 2024 which factors in all drinks (except milk or other dairy-based products), in plastic (PET) and metal (aluminum, steel) containers, sized 150ml to 3L. The deposit value is €0.15 for containers 150-500ml and €0.25 for containers 501ml-3L.
The scheme’s management organisation, Re-Turn reported that since its launch, recycling rates for in-scope containers have risen from 49% to 91%, with approximately 1.8billion containers placed on the market each year. Re-Turn also cited that consumer habits have “shifted rapidly” and that the “majority of Irish people have embraced the routine of returning bottles and cans”.
Sweden
Sweden was the first country in Europe to implement a Deposit Return Scheme in 1984. It comprises all ready-to-drink beverages including beer, cider, soft drinks, bottled water, fruit syrup and juice products, in plastic (PET) and metal (aluminum, steel) containers, sized 0.19-3L for plastic and 0.15-0.95L for metal. The Deposit value is 2 SEK for small containers and 3 SEK for large containers. The scheme’s management organisation, Pantamera, says the scheme receives over 2.7 billion cans and PET bottles each year.
Germany
Germany introduced its Deposit Return Scheme in 2003. It has certain restrictions on what type of store needs to collect containers. The German Packaging Act stipulates that the retailer must collect all one-way beverage packaging of the type of material that he also carries in his range. If, for example, no drinks are offered in one-way glass bottles in a shop, then the retailer does not have to collect them. Another restriction concerns the size of the store. If the sales area is less than 200 square metres, the retailer is only required to collect the one-way beverage packaging of the brands that he also sells himself. If the sales area is over 200 square metres, the retailer must accept from the customer all one-way beverage packaging that is subject to a mandatory deposit, regardless of whether he carries the brand, the packaging size, etc. or not. Scheme operator, DPG Deutsche Pfandsystem, reports a 98% return rate for in-scope containers.
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