Deposit Return System Administrator: Recycling of collected PET bottles and cans into new packaging
The Slovak deposit return system greatly exceeded the statutory target for the rate of return in its very first year of operation. Through joint efforts, Slovaks managed to collect more than 820 million pieces of deposited packaging, while approximately 1.1 billion pieces were put on the market. The deposit return system in Slovakia thus achieved a rate of return of 71%. Before the deposit return system was launched, only 60% of plastic bottles were returned to circulation through sorted collection. Thanks to the introduction of deposits, there was a decrease in beverage packaging discarded in nature. Analyses by ENVI-PAK show that while cans accounted for 21% and PET bottles for 18% of the collected waste in 2020, in the fall of 2022 cans amounted to only 4% and PET bottles to only 5%.
