Six months after the launch of Poland’s deposit return scheme, the first effects of its operation are already visible. According to data from the Ministry of Climate and Environment, around 520 million containers were collected from October 2025 to March 2026. An IQS survey, in turn, indicates that 62% of Poles are already using the system. The Polish Recycling Association assesses that the mechanism is achieving its environmental objective, as single-use beverage packaging is gradually disappearing from public spaces. At the same time, the organisation points to two areas requiring immediate intervention. These are insufficient communication with citizens and the lack of implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility, which is intended to shift the costs of the system onto entities placing packaging on the market rather than onto residents. According to the association, the current model has been implemented only partially, which means that alongside environmental benefits, organisational and financial problems are also becoming apparent.
According to an IBRiS poll, more than half of Poles assess the functioning of the system negatively. In the opinion of the Polish Recycling Association, however, this does not result from the design of the solution itself, but from informational shortcomings on the part of the state. The organisation indicates that communication carried out by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, limited mainly to a website and social media, has proved insufficient for such a broad social change. There has been a lack of a consistent information campaign in traditional media, at local level, in municipalities and points of sale, as well as direct explanations to citizens not only of the rules for returning packaging, but also of the environmental purpose of the entire system. As Sławomir Pacek, President of the Polish Recycling Association, emphasises, “The deposit return scheme works, but Poles do not understand it. And that is the biggest problem today. There was no real information campaign, not only about the rules for returning packaging, but above all about the reasons for introducing the system and its positive environmental effects. The ministry’s website and social media are definitely not enough when such a profound social change is being introduced.”
Problems with information and system operation
One of the effects of poor communication is false perceptions of how the deposit return scheme functions. Most often, it is identified exclusively with reverse vending machines or recycling machines. In practice, the absence of a device in a shop or its failure is sometimes perceived by consumers as proof that the system is not functioning in a given locality. Meanwhile, as the association points out, every shop with an area of more than 200 m² has a statutory obligation to accept deposit-bearing packaging at the checkout and refund cash if the consumer requests it. A voucher is only one of the available options. The reverse vending machine was intended to serve as a convenience, not as a condition for the system to operate.
The organisation also points to insufficient training of retail outlet employees. As a result, customers are sometimes referred to other points or face refusals to accept packaging at the checkout. Situations of this kind reinforce disinformation and consumer frustration and, consequently, worsen the public perception of the entire solution.
Environmental effects confirmed in the field
The Polish Recycling Association indicates that the effectiveness of the system is best demonstrated by observations made during environmental clean-up actions. During the April clean-up of the Oder river basin, carried out by Waste Free Oceans, only two bottles covered by the deposit return scheme were found among the collected waste. According to Filip Piotrowski, a circular economy expert at Waste Free Oceans, assigning value to waste nearly eliminates the phenomenon of it being discarded in the environment.
In the expert’s assessment, Poland may achieve an 80% PET bottle collection rate within a year. By comparison, previously, in a system based solely on separate collection into the yellow bag, the rate was around 45%. Experience from other European Union countries, meanwhile, shows that in the second year of operation of a deposit return scheme, the collection rate exceeds 90%. Such a result has been recorded, among others, in Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Lack of EPR and the costs of waste management
The second key problem identified by the association is the lack of implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility. The organisation emphasises that the deposit return scheme was launched without a parallel financial mechanism that constitutes its natural complement. In practice, this means removing the most valuable fractions, such as PET bottles and aluminium cans, from the municipal waste stream. This, in turn, reduces the revenues of municipalities, which had previously co-financed the waste collection and sorting system.
In the assessment of the Polish Recycling Association, the consequence of this situation is the transfer of the costs of the waste management system directly onto residents. Rising waste collection charges are said to be directly linked to the lack of EPR, i.e. a mechanism imposing financial responsibility for the management of packaging on producers placing it on the market. According to estimates by the Municipal Services Chamber, municipalities may lose as much as PLN 6.6 billion in revenue from the most profitable waste fractions over a decade. The association notes that the EPR bill is already prepared and awaiting adoption.
Sławomir Pacek emphasises that “We call for the swiftest possible introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility. This solution will complete the deposit return scheme and help stop the increase in fees borne by residents and, if it functions efficiently, potentially even reduce them. Those who place packaging on the market should pay, not citizens. This is how it works in other European Union countries, and this is how it should work here.”
Operators have no right to profit from deposits
The association also referred to opinions emerging in the public debate that the deposit return scheme serves to enrich operators or recyclers. According to the organisation, such claims are inconsistent with the applicable rules. System operators act as non-profit organisations and may not generate profit from deposits. Funds from unredeemed deposits should be allocated to improving the functioning of the system, including information campaigns. Recyclers, on the other hand, do not receive any funds from deposits.
Recommendations for further development
In the assessment of the Polish Recycling Association, the deposit return scheme should be maintained and developed, because its environmental effect is already visible. However, a condition for further improvement is to simultaneously strengthen state communication with citizens and introduce a fair financing model based on EPR. Without this, the costs will continue to be borne by residents rather than by entities placing packaging on the market.
The organisation also calls for the system to be extended as quickly as possible to include single-use glass, especially small bottles colloquially referred to as “monkey bottles”. According to the association, these are currently one of the most visible categories of waste lingering in public spaces. Without bringing them under the deposit return scheme, full achievement of the environmental objective may be difficult.
