Changes in the deposit system. It’s signed by the president
On Thursday, President Andrzej Duda signed a law introducing a new deposit system for bottles. This means that the new rules will apply from January 1, 2025.
On Thursday, President Andrzej Duda signed an act amending the act on packaging and packaging waste management and some other acts. The regulations introduce a completely new deposit-refund system and implement the EU directive.
Deposit system
In July, the Sejm passed the act on the introduction of the deposit-refund system. The introduction of the deposit-refund system is a response to the so-called the Single Use Plastic (SUP) directive. Entrepreneurs who market beverages in packaging covered by a deposit will have to place information on the amount of the deposit on the packaging. On the other hand, stores that will participate in the system will be obliged to return the deposit collected at the time of returning the packaging or packaging waste covered by the deposit.
Shops with an area of more than 200 square meters are to enter the system, which will be obliged to collect empty packaging and return the deposit. For smaller establishments, it will be voluntary, although they will still have to collect a deposit on the products covered by it.
Deposit for new bottles
The deposit for disposable plastic bottles up to 3 liters, reusable glass bottles up to 1.5 liters and metal cans up to 1 liter is to amount to PLN 0.50 per package.
For comparison, in Germany the amount of the deposit is EUR 0.25 for all types of packaging, and in Croatia it is EUR 0.07 per packaging. In Finland, the amount of the deposit depends on the type of packaging – for glass it is EUR 0.1, for metal – EUR 0.15, and for plastic – EUR 0.10-0.40 depending on the capacity of the bottle.
