According to Greenpeace, the new redemption system is not even in the pipeline

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 04. 10. 12:19

According to a recent survey by Greenpeace, the deposit system for beverage packaging in Hungary shows a worrying trend in the recent period. There is almost no trace of the bottles with a deposit fee introduced at the beginning of the year on store shelves, and the deposit machines are almost empty. According to them, the situation is devastating, and manufacturers and retail chains share the responsibility for this problem.

According to Greenpeace, manufacturers are taking advantage of the six-month grace period provided by the government, which gave them the opportunity to introduce new types of returnable bottles. However, in practice, little progress has been made in this area, and most store chains are delaying the distribution of own-brand drinks in returnable packaging. As a result, a huge amount of PET bottles are consumed, most of which are not recycled.

During the survey conducted by Greenpeace, the presence of the new deposit system was examined in 16 stores. Only three stores found drink packaging that had a deposit fee, and these were only found in two Aldi and one Spar stores. According to Simon Gergely, Greenpeace Hungary’s chemical expert, even large companies that have been campaigning with green messages for years do not produce their own branded drinks in returnable bottles.