Local services
From the 1st of July, only returnable bottles and jars will be available in Hungary.
The aim of the measure is for Hungary to achieve a 90 percent PET bottle return rate within 3 years.
The essence of the system is that for all so-called one-way beverage products put on the market after the 1st of January 2024, the customer pays a uniform HUF 50 per bottle redemption fee, which is refunded after the bottle is returned. In the case of refillable bottles, the amount of the redemption fee is set by the bottler and indicated in the logo. This is a very effective environmental method, as it motivates the consumer to return the bottle, which can then be recycled.
What to look out for?
Bottles put on the market after the 1st of January 2024, bearing the redemption logo and a new barcode different from the one on the previous packaging, can be returned.
Returns will be compulsory in all supermarkets larger than 400 square metres at Repont vending machines, but any smaller supermarket can join the scheme voluntarily. In the participating shops, bottles will be placed in a machine that will check whether the bottle is returnable, correctly labelled and not damaged.
During the mandatory return, you can only return bottles and cylinders that bear the special MOHU mark on the packaging. This will be the code that will be scanned by vending machines in various shops across the country.
Non-returnable bottles must not be thrown into the vending machines, as they can cause malfunctions and damage. It will not be possible to return bottles smaller than 0.1 litre and larger than 3 litres.
Do not squeeze the bottle! The vending machines identify the shape, weight and barcode of the packaging, and return the bottles based on this information. Only intact, uncompressed, legible barcodes are returned.
You will have several options to get your bottle deposit refunded in the future:
- Voucher: the value of the returned bottles is printed by the vending machine in the form of a voucher, which can be redeemed for cash or redeemed in the respective shop or chain of shops.
- Transfer to a bank account: using the barcode scanner built into the vending machine, the registered customer will be able to identify himself in the soon-to-be-available application with his electronic customer code, after which the redemption fee will be automatically credited to the bank account recorded in his customer profile.
- Donation to charity: you will also be able to donate the redemption fee to charity.
Useful Information
The automatic system recognises products by their barcode, and although we can find the deposit fee on them, if they are not yet in the database, they may not be returned. In fact, whether we receive money for the bottles depends on if the product code has been entered in the REpont machine database of the shop.
Link to Repont Map search: https://repont.hu/hu/terkepes-kereso
Source:https://futureofdebrecen.hu/u-need-it/ne-dobd-el-vidd-vissza/
