Beverage container deposit & return system records 70-percent success rate

The system for returning PET bottles and cans in Slovakia, which has been in place since the start of 2022, achieved a 70-percent return rate in its first ten months, head of the relations and communications department of the system Lucia Morvai, has reported. According to the spokesperson, the system is legally obliged to attain a 60-percent return rate in its first year of existence. "The system for returning beverage containers has taken off faster than the initial analyses predicted. Slovakia is succeeding in collecting a record amount of beverage packaging, expanding its network for returning the containers and reducing the amount of litter," said Morvai. The short-term aim of the system is to achieve a 90-percent return rate by 2025. Currently, there are almost 3,000 places at which Slovaks can return these containers and receive back the deposit that they paid for them, and the number continues to grow.
The spokesperson claimed that the Slovak system has inspired other countries. Malta, for instance, has opted for an IT solution designed for the Slovak system to launch one of its own. (TASR)