Returnable deposit in Germany
The reusable deposit is in Germany a charge on reusable bottles and containers, which is refunded upon return of the packages after use. It is most frequently collected for beverage packaging . In contrast to the way deposit , only the material is recycled from the packages in which, after the withdrawal, for example, plastic granules, are cleaned in the multi-deposit bottles and jars and the right back cycle of goods supplied. The returnable deposit on beverage bottles was first introduced in Germany in 1929 by the Coca-Cola company . As early as 1928 there was a returnable deposit for biscuit jars, which was calculated according to the conditions of an association of German biscuit manufacturers (see stamp imprinted on a biscuit bill).
Some other countries also have reusable deposit systems, some of which differ significantly from the German system. For reusable deposit systems in other countries, see bottle deposit .
Economic and ecological aspects
Despite the high transport costs, the reusable system is in many cases more environmentally friendly than the one-way deposit system, glass deposit bottles of the reusable system can be filled up to 50 times, those made of PET 25 times. It is important that as many bottles as possible return undamaged, because this is the only way to invest in durable bottles that can be filled several times. Deposit systems achieved return rates of up to 99% twice as high as dual systems .
According to the study "Reusable and recycling systems for selected beverage packaging from a sustainability perspective" by the auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers for Deutsche Umwelthilfe , the use of reusable packaging not only has positive ecological effects, but also positive employment effects, as more jobs are required for the operation of the take-back systems despite the economic advantages .
Examples of reusable packaging
There is no uniform labeling of reusable packaging, they can be recognized by the inscription reusable bottle or reusable returnable bottle on the label, and the symbols reusable - for the environment or Blue Angel (reusable) show reusable packaging. Lettering can also be embossed directly on the bottle, e.g. loan bottle Deutscher Brunnen GDB for the standard well bottle , VdF returnable bottle , VdF reusable / reusable , reusable deposit or similar.
In the case of bottles that have already been refilled several times, there are often matt stripes above and below the label (see fourth picture), so-called traces of circulation, which are caused by the bottles rubbing against each other in the bottling plant and which increase with the frequency of circulation. With some returnable PET bottles, small triangles can also be seen under the label, which mark the number of cycles. A returnable bottle can be recognized by these stripes, triangles or the embossing, even without a label.
CO 2 cylinders for drinking water soda devices are also refilled, so a reusable deposit is charged here too.
Standard wells bottle of GDB for soft drinks or mineral water
GDB PET mineral water bottle
Reusable yogurt glass
Beer bottle with stripes created by refilling
The legal situation in Germany
The German legislator assumes that the providers of reusable systems have a strong self-interest in the highest possible return rate for their packaging. In contrast to the one-way deposit, the reusable deposit is therefore not regulated by law in the Packaging Ordinance; there are also no other special regulations.
There is therefore no deposit or general take-back obligation for reusable packaging. From a legal point of view, the reusable deposit is a civil law agreement between buyer and seller; only the seller is obliged to take back the packaging actually purchased there and reimburse the agreed deposit amount - if necessary after submitting proof of purchase.
A retailer must accept and refund one-way returnable bottles if he sells returnable bottles of the same type of material. If its sales area is less than 200 m², this only applies to brands that are sold there.
Tax aspects
The retail trade collects a deposit - regardless of whether it is a one-way or reusable deposit - gross, i.e. pays sales tax from it. The packaging is an ancillary service; it is ignored for sales tax purposes and treated as part of the main service. Like the main service, for example the drink, it is thus subject to sales tax. If the retailer reimburses the deposit, it acts like a subsequent purchase price reduction and is accordingly tax deductible.
Wholesalers, on the other hand, charge the deposit net, i.e. add sales tax to the aforementioned contributions. This means that the retailer has to pay more deposit to the wholesaler and this more money - as well as the sales tax he has paid himself - only gets back when the consumer returns the bottles / crates to him.
Take-back systems
Regardless of the legal regulation, return systems have been set up on a voluntary basis for economic reasons, which in fact offer regulations similar to those for one-way deposits: packaging is accepted by all participating retailers without any problems, and uniform deposit amounts have been established for large product groups such as beer or mineral water. A deposit of 8 cents is required for beer bottles and a 15 cents deposit for mineral water and soft drinks; typical amounts for other products are between 2 and 5 cents for wine and up to 50 cents for honey jars.
Web links
- Questions and answers about the one-way deposit ("can deposit") , Konsumentzentrale.de
- Reusable or disposable: total confusion . Consumer Center.de
- Reusable guide from NABU
- Reusable working group, provider of the reusable label
- Overview of deposit rates at mehrweg.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Study for the German Environmental Aid : Beverage packaging systems in the sustainability check: reusable beats one-way deposit beats the Green Dot. June 2011.
- ↑ cf. Packaging Ordinance § 9 Duty to collect and take back one-way beverage packaging .
- ↑ cf. Consumer advice center Baden-Württemberg: One-way and reusable deposit: What is legally regulated? ( Memento from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: The consumer newspaper. Volume 27, No. 4, October - December 2011, p. 2 (PDF, 4.7 MB).
- ↑ Legal requirements for the return of one-way beverage packaging subject to a deposit. dpg-pfandsystem.de, accessed on December 15, 2018 .
- ↑ Norbert Dautzenberg: Goods containment. In: Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon. Retrieved October 4, 2018 .
- ^ Daniela Siebert: Returnable bottles - wanted victims. June 22, 2015, accessed October 4, 2018 .