Recycling Programme Rolls Out with New Returnable Bottles in Stores
From today, customers across the country will find the Aldi supermarket chain stocked with the first products eligible for a new deposit return scheme.
Labels of the store-brand soft drinks included in this program now feature a logo indicating the deposit fee, along with the amount of the fee, which is automatically added to the product's price at the checkout. The eligibility for return and the deposit fee are also clearly marked on shelf price tags.
Each returnable bottle carries a deposit of 50 Hungarian forints, which shoppers will receive back in the form of an in-store redeemable coupon. In addition to redeeming their deposits for purchases, customers have the option to donate the amount to charity. The immediate transfer of the return deposit to a bank account will be available starting April, according to information from MoHu.
The deposit return system, operated by MoHu, Mol Group's waste management subsidiary, officially began earlier this year, and reverse vending machines have already been installed in stores. These machines only accept packaging (such as bottles and cans) that is eligible for the deposit return, which will be phased in gradually. The regulatory grace period extends until the end of June.
Only packaging for which a deposit has already been paid by the customer can be returned via the reverse vending machines. The National Trade Association warned in a statement earlier in January that inserting non-eligible packaging into these machines can cause damage even after they are fully operational.
The Association issued this cautionary statement in response to reports that, following the official start of the deposit return system on January 1, many attempted to return bottles and cans that were not yet accepted by the machines. There have been multiple reports of the machines malfunctioning and occasionally dispensing unusable vouchers for the returned drink containers.
Each returnable bottle carries a deposit of 50 Hungarian forints, which shoppers will receive back in the form of an in-store redeemable coupon. In addition to redeeming their deposits for purchases, customers have the option to donate the amount to charity. The immediate transfer of the return deposit to a bank account will be available starting April, according to information from MoHu.
The deposit return system, operated by MoHu, Mol Group's waste management subsidiary, officially began earlier this year, and reverse vending machines have already been installed in stores. These machines only accept packaging (such as bottles and cans) that is eligible for the deposit return, which will be phased in gradually. The regulatory grace period extends until the end of June.
Only packaging for which a deposit has already been paid by the customer can be returned via the reverse vending machines. The National Trade Association warned in a statement earlier in January that inserting non-eligible packaging into these machines can cause damage even after they are fully operational.
The Association issued this cautionary statement in response to reports that, following the official start of the deposit return system on January 1, many attempted to return bottles and cans that were not yet accepted by the machines. There have been multiple reports of the machines malfunctioning and occasionally dispensing unusable vouchers for the returned drink containers.
