EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 06/25 www.petpla.net 12 Deposit return schemes Europe, an overview Deposit return schemes (DRSs) for drinks container recycling have emerged as a pivotal strategy in Europe’s quest to enhance the recycling rate and reduce waste. By incentivising the return of beverage containers, DRSs not only combat litter and waste, but also foster a circular economy. Thomas Morgenstern, Vice President of Public Affairs - Head of Europe & Central Asia at Tomra, explores the history, current trends and future prospects of DRS in Europe. Editour A deposit return system is a legislation to ensure drink containers such as plastic or glass bottles and aluminum cans are efficiently collected and recycled rather than discarded as waste. Under a DRS, consumers pay a small deposit when purchasing a drink, which is refunded when they return the empty packaging for recycling. “DRSs aim to reduce litter, increase the quantity and quality of collection and recycling, and promote a Circular Economy by ensuring valuable materials are recovered and reused, ideally in a closed loop,” explains Thomas Morgenstern. By providing a financial incentive, DRSs encourage consumers to participate actively in collection and recycling efforts, thereby contributing to environmental goals and resource conservation. History of deposit return schemes in Europe The concept of money back for empty drink packaging has deep roots in Europe. Early “voluntary” systems (not legislated) were run by beverage producers, who saw their costly glass and stoneware bottles as company property and business assets for continuous use. From at least 1803, UK drink producers offered money back on returned containers. From 1900, the first producers charged deposits to cover the production costs of their beverage containers in case it was not returned. As reusable container packaging was gradually taken over by single-use materials like cans and PET, deposit return was considered a means to continue the reuse of valuable materials. In 1984, Sweden became the first country in Europe to legislate a DRS, starting with cans. It not only promoted the recycling of drink containers. “The first ever DRS for single-use containers in Europe was established to combat the growing amount of beverage can litter in the Swedish environment. This early container deposit legislation laid the groundwork for future schemes, demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of incentivising container returns,” shares Thomas Morgenstern. Sweden’s pioneering efforts were followed by DRS legislation in other Nordic countries (Iceland in 1989, Norway in 1999 and Denmark in 2002), recognising the advantages of such systems for circularity, reducing packaging waste, and litter prevention. Germany’s introduction of a nationwide DRS for single-use drink containers in 2003, following a decline in the consumption of reusable containers, marked a significant milestone for deposit return systems. The German DRS is today known for its world-leading return rates, with 98% of eligible drinks containers brought back for recycling. Germany today is the biggest DRS market for single-use and refillable beverage containers in the world. The success of early adopters inspired other European nations. Estonia and the Netherlands soon followed in 2005, and Croatia in 2006, each tailored to their specific environmental and economic contexts. The following decade saw Lithuania launch a deposit system in 2016. The period saw not only the arrival of new DRSs, but also the expansion or modernisation of existing legislation – typically to reflect new drink consumption trends, litter streams and popular material types, or to ensure the deposit value keeps pace with inflation. Pioneering Sweden expanded their deposit return scheme to include plastic PET bottles in 1994, and increased the deposit value for cans in 2010. Denmark added more drink types during DRS expansions in 2005, 2008 and 2020. Finland expanded the material types, adding PET bottles in 2008 and glass in 2010. Estonia in 2015 increased the deposit value, and allowed producers of some other drink types to join the deposit system voluntarily. Norway and Iceland also increased deposit values, in 2018 and 2021 respectively. The Netherlands in 2021 expanded from only large plastic bottles to also include small plastic bottles. Also in 2021, Croatia expanded the types of drinks covered (adding milk and dairy products), and to include all drinks over 0.2 liters in size. Recent trends in Europe’s deposit return schemes & beverages bottled in PET Today, momentum for DRS has continued to grow, with several countries launching new DRSs or expanding existing ones. DRSs are now live in 17 European countries. In just the past three years, these European countries have launched a new deposit system: Slovakia (January 2022) Latvia (February 2022) Malta (November 2022) Romania (November 2023) Hungary (January 2024) Republic of Ireland (February 2024) Austria (January 2025) In the same period, Germany expanded its already successful return scheme to cover alcoholic drinks and juices in single-use plastic bottles and cans (2022), plus milkbased mixed drinks in cans and PET (2024). Less than a year after launch, Latvia’s DRS expanded to include strong alcoholic drinks, also after seeing their large presence in litter. Also in 2023, the Netherlands once Sponsors to date
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