Recycling
The number of returns at the REpont return machine for beverage packaging reached the 10 million mark in recent days.
From July 1st, beverage manufacturers will only be allowed to market their products in reusable packaging. As a result, more and more beverage bottles, PET bottles and aluminum cans of this type are appearing on the shelves. Accordingly, the number of returns has risen sharply, to half a million per day. So far, more than 10 million returns have been made nationwide, and the trend is rising rapidly.
Mandatory in all larger stores
The MOHU REpont return machines have been in operation since January. All shops with more than 400 m2 of sales area must have such a machine. Bottles can currently be returned at 3,000 REpont machines. Manufacturers have been granted a six-month grace period, but from July 1 they will only be allowed to market their products in reusable packaging. Nevertheless, disposable bottles, cans and PET bottles will still be found in stores for months to come, alongside packaging with the 50-forint logo.
Innovative REpont-App
The rule is very simple: only containers with the 50 forint logo and for which a deposit of 50 forints has been paid can be returned. The return is made easier by the REpont application, which can recognize whether a particular bottle can be returned or not. A map in the app shows where the nearest return point is. The most important innovation is that customers can immediately transfer the deposit fee to their own bank account – unique in Europe. So far, around 200,000 people have downloaded the application. Of course, bottles can also be returned without this technical assistance.
Incentives for small businesses
At the machines, customers can choose from three options for how they would like to get the 50 forint fee back: as a voucher that can be redeemed in the shop, as a transfer to a bank account or as a donation to a good cause. Bottles and cans must be in good condition and empty when placed in the machine, but do not need to be washed. Smaller shops that do not have such a machine can join the manual return system.
In this case, the store owner takes back the containers; the deposit fee can be offset once morest the purchase. So far, regarding 1,000 small shops have registered for this option. However, this number is expected to increase, as MOHU stores receive an administrative subsidy and tools to operate the system. According to the concessionaire, people quickly get used to the system based on international experience. In the Baltic States, a return rate of 90% was achieved in three years. The goal is to remove mountains of PET bottles and aluminum cans from nature and to recycle beverage packaging as much as possible.
#Machines #active #Budapester #Zeitung
