Every day we round up the most important deposit return news from Europe: from system operators, governments and trade media. Briefly summarised in your own language, with a link to the source.
Amsterdam installs litter bins with a separate compartment for deposit containers
Over the coming weeks, Amsterdam will put up 200 new litter bins, first behind Central Station and then in places including the Vondelpark and on Osdorpplein. The bins have a self-closing door and a separate compartment for deposit bottles and cans, so that collectors no longer tear open the rubbish bags. In a test, the door stayed shut on 83% of the new bins, compared with 38% of the current ones.
Readers: deposit return only works if buyers reclaim it themselves
In the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, readers respond to the debate on the deposit return system. The gist: the system is only a success if buyers return their empty bottles and cans themselves and collect their deposit.
Poland: deposit scheme a success after one year, but glass is still left out
A year after launch, Poland's deposit return scheme has around 60,000 return points and more than 3.2 billion bottles and cans have been returned; 74% of Poles take part. Experts point to a gap: over 500 million single-use glass bottles a year fall outside the scheme. They call for adding glass, cutting exemptions and publishing the scheme's figures.
UK: registration for the deposit return scheme opens
Since 29 September, producers and retailers in the UK have been able to register with Exchange for Change, the administrator of the deposit return scheme due to launch in October 2027. This first phase asks only for basic details; a second, more detailed phase follows in January 2027. Urban shops under 100 m² are automatically exempt from taking returns, and shops up to 200 m² can apply for an exemption under certain conditions.
New prize draw: scan your deposit receipt for a chance to win
Verpact and Statiegeld Nederland are launching a nationwide promotion running until 14 February 2027. Anyone who returns containers at a participating supermarket and scans the deposit receipt in the Statiegeld App gets a free ticket for each container; €10,000 in prizes is drawn every two weeks. The deposit itself is still refunded as normal.
Portugal: 400 million containers returned through the Volta deposit scheme
Portugal's deposit return scheme Volta, launched on 10 April, has taken back more than 400 million bottles and cans in under six months. Operator SDR Portugal has put a public online counter on volta.com.pt that is updated daily. Only 8 of the 50 planned large return kiosks are in place so far; for the rest, the operator is waiting on permission and space from municipalities. The target is 90% collection by the end of 2029.
Spain plans to introduce a deposit of at least €0.10 on plastic bottles and cans, known as the SDDR. The regulations set November 2026 as the start date, but the sector expects that date to be missed. In 2023, Spain collected only 41.3% of plastic drinks bottles separately, far below the European target of 90% by 2029.
Portugal: government sticks with Volta deposit return scheme
Portugal's environment minister rejected the Mayor of Lisbon's call to scrap the Volta deposit return scheme. According to her, the scheme is required under EU rules and has already reached a 44% collection rate since its launch on 10 April, above the annual target of 40%. The government is looking for other solutions to the nuisance around collection points.
Consumentenbond: mandatory take-back of deposit containers is badly needed
The Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumers' association, backs the government's plan to require shops to take back deposit containers from 1 January 2028. In 2025, 78% of plastic bottles and 86% of cans were returned, short of the 90% target, and €129 million in deposits went unclaimed. In Germany, where take-back is already mandatory, the return rate is above 95%.
A second Statiegeld Retourshop has opened on the Osdorpplein in Amsterdam. As well as bottles and cans, it accepts textiles, small electrical appliances, rigid plastic packaging and drinks cartons. The shop works with Milieuwerk and provides jobs for people who face barriers to the labour market.
Reconstruction: how the deposit lottery came about instead of a higher deposit
NOS describes how the ministry and drinks producers came up with a lottery as an alternative to doubling the deposit, which the regulator ILT (the Dutch environment inspectorate) had demanded. According to the reconstruction, the inspectorate was largely kept out of the talks. Anyone who receives their refund digitally can put their deposit towards a lottery ticket.
Government wants to simplify deposit return from 2028
The Dutch government proposes charging a deposit on all plastic bottles up to 3 litres from 1 January 2028, including dairy and juice. Shops will be required to take back containers depending on their size, and shops of 200 m² or more must also be able to pay out deposits in cash. The aim is for the Netherlands to reach the European 90% collection target well before 2029.
Enschede return shop handles an average of 7,000 containers a day
In its first month, the Statiegeld Retourshop in Enschede-Zuid processed an average of 7,000 bottles and cans a day. It has two standard reverse vending machines and a bulk machine that accepts up to 100 containers at once, and it is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm. Refunds can be paid in cash, via Tikkie or as a donation.
Ireland's deposit return scheme Re-turn took back 1.43 billion bottles and cans in 2025, a return rate of 76.4%. €60.1 million in deposits went unclaimed; that money covers, among other things, handling fees for retailers and investment in the scheme. Litter from drinks containers has fallen by 55% since the scheme launched in 2024.
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