Changes to the deposit system approved. What about glass bottles?

On Friday, the Sejm passed an amendment to the act, which is to enable the continuation of the existing private return systems for reusable glass bottles, in which the collection rate of introduced packaging exceeds 90%.

241 MPs voted for the amendment, 9 were against and 191 abstained from voting.

This concerns an amendment to the Act on packaging and packaging waste management and the Act amending the Act on packaging and packaging waste management and certain other acts.

As KO MP Gabriela Lenartowicz emphasized the day before when presenting the report of the parliamentary committees, the amendment is intended to provide a stable and predictable legal framework for the existing market return systems for reusable glass bottles, which have been operating for years outside the central deposit system. She added that it mainly concerns beer and mineral water bottles.

A key relief for citizens will be the abolition of the obligation to present a receipt when returning bottles to stores selling a given product. As Lenartowicz pointed out, these changes serve to eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers and support ecological habits without imposing excessive administrative burdens.

At the beginning of October, a deposit system was introduced in Poland, which means that drinks in plastic bottles (up to 3 liters), metal cans (up to 1 liter) and reusable glass bottles (up to 1.5 liters) will be subject to a deposit, which can be recovered after returning the packaging. The deposit is 50 groszy for plastic bottles and cans, and PLN 1 for reusable glass bottles. Whether a given package is covered by a deposit is indicated by the deposit mark printed on the label or can. These are two arrows forming a rectangle with the word “deposit” and its amount.

There is a three-month transitional period until the end of 2025, which is to allow producers and stores to sell drinks in packaging from before the introduction of the deposit system and replace them with new, deposit-proof ones.

The regulations give beverage producers the opportunity to decide – regardless of the transitional period – not to join the deposit system, agreeing to pay the so-called product fee, i.e. de facto a penalty for failure to meet minimum levels of selective collection.

The deposit is to be collected for each drink placed on the market in packaging covered by the system. The deposit is also returned to the end user via the system, without the need to present a receipt for the drink. Returned packaging should be empty, must not be crushed and must have a legible barcode on the label and the logo of the deposit system. The deposit is a separate item on the receipt.

The deposit system is intended to encourage consumers to return packaging. Its main goal is to increase the levels of separate collection of beverage packaging and achieve EU recycling thresholds. According to them, in the years 2025-2028, the level of selective waste collection is to reach 77%. in the case of single-use plastic bottles (up to 3 liters), metal cans (up to 1 liter) and reusable glass bottles (up to 1.5 liters). From 2029, this threshold will increase to 90%.

As indicated by representatives of the Ministry of Climate, the current method of collecting packaging (throwing it into a yellow container or bag) managed to collect a maximum of approximately 45 percent in Poland. PET bottles introduced to the market. The deposit system is intended to make it possible to achieve a collection rate exceeding 90% in Poland (PAP)

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