Beverage packaging, deposit with deposit arriving:what are the advantages and why Italy is opposed

To comply with EU targets on packaging recycling, more and more European countries have chosen the path of security deposits.Here's how they work

There is something new included in the European packaging regulation, currently being approved, which could become a reality in Italy in a few years.This is the Security Deposit System – in English, Deposit Return System (Drs) -, in which the consumer is asked to return the disposable drink packaging he has purchased.The final text of the EU regulation requires all member countries to achieve 90% collection for plastic bottles and beverage cans by 2029.For those who are unable to achieve this objective, there is an obligation to equip themselves with a security deposit system, which has already been tested in several European countries, significantly increasing the packaging collection rate.After reaching theunderstanding between Parliament and the EU Council, the Italian government rejoiced at the compromise reached, arguing that the final text of the regulation grants "freedom of choice" between the adoption of the security deposit and "the maintenance of virtuous models of separate collection".In reality, warns Silvia Ricci, circular economy expert and coordinator of the campaign Good luck, it is only a matter of time before Italy also decides to introduce a Drs.«The objective of 90% collection by 2029 – explains Ricci – can only be achieved with the introduction of a large-scale mandatory security deposit system».

What is a Drs. and how does it work

The security deposit is a selective collection system for single-use beverage packaging – made of glass, plastic or aluminum – under which the consumer pays a small security deposit in addition to the selling price of the product, typically 15 or 20 cents.This deposit is then returned entirely to the consumer when the empty bottle (or can) is returned to a special collection center.Often the packaging can be returned to retailers, so as to avoid further trips to eco-islands.In this way, when you go to the supermarket to do your shopping you can deposit all the empty packaging and collect the deposit for each bottle or can returned.The difference between a DRS and a "returnable" system is that the latter concerns only refillable containers, for example glass bottles.The security deposit system instead concerns plastic bottles and aluminum cans, which after being collected are compacted and sent for recycling.

Who pays and what are the benefits

If security deposit systems are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, the reason is that they have numerous advantages.First of all for the environment, because they allow us to combat the phenomenon of waste abandonment and increase, even significantly, the collection rate of disposable packaging.Consumers also benefit, as through a simple gesture (bringing back empty bottles when going shopping) they can feel like protagonists of a concrete gesture in favor of the environment without having to pay any additional costs.These systems, in fact, are financed by three items.First of all, by beverage producers, who are required to cover the costs relating to the end of life of packaging by paying an EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) contribution.Secondly, from the sale of collected and recycled material.Finally, the security deposit system is also self-financing thanks to unredeemed deposits, i.e. from those consumers who do not return the empty packaging and, consequently, do not get the security money.

How European countries are moving

To date, over 50 countries around the world have adopted a security deposit system for packaging.One of the most virtuous examples in Europe is represented by Germany, which in 2021 managed to collect 98% of disposable beverage packaging.The advantages of DRS are measured above all with PET bottles, which represent the most widespread and easily recyclable plastic containers.In European countries with a security deposit system the average collection rate for this material is 94%.For countries that do not have a DRS, the percentage stops at 47%.Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, Romania, Hungary and Ireland were also added to the list of countries with a security deposit system.In January 2025 it will be Austria's turn, which will probably also be followed by Spain and France, despite the writing of the law having suffered a setback due to opposition from the municipalities.If everything proceeds as planned, it can be hypothesized that by 2026 there will be 20 (out of a total of 27) EU countries equipped with a Drs.

Because Italy opposes it

Above all, Conai, the consortium of companies that produce or use packaging, is opposed to the introduction of a security deposit system in Italy.In a note at the end of 2022, Conai described the DRS as "a useless duplication of economic and environmental costs", which would "join, without completely replacing, traditional separate waste collection".According to the consortium's estimates, the installation of the machines for the management of the warehouses would involve an initial investment "of approximately 2.3 billion euros and a management cost of approximately 350 million euros per year".

The “reconnaissance” of 2026

With the single-use plastics directive approved in 2019, the European Union has set a target of collecting 90% of PET bottles by 2029.The new packaging regulation, close to approval, also provides the same objective for aluminum cans.However, the provision provides for a sort of reconnaissance moment in 2026.By that year, member countries must have achieved a collection rate for bottles and cans of 80% and must present a plan on how they intend to reach the 90% target by 2029.If they fail to demonstrate that they have a concrete strategy to meet the deadlines, countries will be forced to introduce a security deposit system.“While there are no examples of countries that have reached and exceeded 90% collection for drinks containers without a deposit system, we have recently launched European examples that have achieved this target just two years after launch,” he observes Silvia Ricci.The data of Corepla relating to 2022 they say that in Italy the collection rate for plastic packaging was 69%.By 2026, this percentage must rise to at least 80%.If this were not possible, Italy would also be forced to adopt a security deposit system once and for all.

Cover photo:Dreamstime/Ivan Zelenin