Slovaks have a positive attitude towards participating in the deposit return system on plastic bottles and cans – this is a result of a joint survey conducted by the system administrator and 2muse agency.
The deposit system was introduced last year, buyers are charged a 15 eurocent deposit for beverage bottles and cans. According to the survey, as much as 97 percent of population has adopted this concept. Their main motivation is to reduce the number of plastic released to the nature, but the financial aspect also plays a role.
Stanislava Puckova from the 2muse agency said it is important to maintain this mindset also in the future. According to her, this can be achieved by raising awareness and by gradually improving the system.
However, there were also attempts to trick the system and collect deposit for bottles bought abroad.
According to Martin Krajcovic from the Slovak alliance of modern trade – it is partially because the neighbouring countries do not yet have a deposit system in place. But he expects that it will be eliminated after Hungary starts its own system next year. Austria will follow in 2025.
The system administrator in Slovakia is currently a non-profit organisation. This was criticised by the new environment minister Tomas Taraba from the SNS party, he calls for more transparency and wants the government to have a bigger control over the system.
More than 1.8 billion bottles and cans have been collected since the start of the deposit system in Slovakia, the current return rate is 93 percent.
(RTVS)
