MOHU has 33 billion forints left after the unreturned bottles – but they can’t profit from it

The Hungarian DRS system – in which manufacturers pay MOHU a 50 forint return fee for each single-use beverage packaging – shows a significant difference compared to European models. Consumers only get the fee back if they return the bottle, so the amount for each unredeemed packaging remains with MOHU. Since a deposit fee was imposed on 1.2 billion beverage packages in 2023, but only about 800 million of these were redeemed, the 50 forints of the remaining 400 million units amounted to about 20 billion forints. Added to this is the additional revenue generated from packages that have since been put on the market but have not yet been redeemed.

However, according to Zsolt Pethő, head of MOHU, “it is a misunderstanding to think that the fee for unredeemed packages enriches MOHU.” The rate of redemptions is also uneven over time: many drinks are sold at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but redemptions often only take place weeks or months later. The company has therefore set aside a separate provision of 18.7 billion forints for bottles purchased in 2024 but redeemed in 2025.

In parallel, MOHU has an additional HUF 7.87 billion in open debt to its business partners – these are obligations related to redemption fees, which remained open at the end of the year.

The company emphasizes that the launch and operation of the system required significant investments: the pre-financing of the machines alone cost more than HUF 50 billion. MOHU currently operates more than 3,000 automatic redemption points, and manual redemption is possible in 1,800 settlements – mainly in smaller stores. However, according to the current regulations, redemption options should be provided in every settlement with a population of more than a thousand, but according to information from 24.hu and Szabad Európa, this is not fully implemented: 143 settlements of this size currently do not have operating DRS points.

According to MOHU, the system’s redemption rate is improving dynamically: in the first five months, Hungarian consumers have already redeemed nearly 1.1 billion bottles, and by the end of the year this number could reach 2.5 billion. The rate exceeds 80 percent over time, and the company aims to reach a redemption level of 90 percent by the end of the third year in 2026. Plastic bottles are redeemed at the highest rate, followed by metal cans, then glass.