Deposit system in Poland
The Polish government is working on a bill that would implement a deposit system for single-use plastic beverage bottles. The system is scheduled to start on January 1, 2025, but some industry groups have asked for it to be delayed by a year.
The aim of the bill is to comply with the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive, which requires member states to ensure that 77% of single-use plastic beverage bottles are collected for recycling by 2025 and 90% by 2029.
According to the deposit law, the following packaging will be covered by the deposit system:
- Single-use plastic beverage bottles with a capacity of up to 3 liters, including their plastic caps and lids, excluding glass or metal beverage bottles whose caps and lids are made of plastic.
- Metal cans with a capacity of up to 1 liter.
- Reusable glass bottles with a capacity of up to 1.5 liters.
New bill
The deposit system is to be created by businesses that introduce beverages in packaging onto the market. Businesses that market beverages in deposit-covered packaging will be required to place information about the deposit amount on the packaging. These businesses are to establish a representative entity that will be responsible for the implementation and management of the system. In the case of stores participating in the system, they will be obligated to refund the deposit collected at purchase at the time of return of deposit-covered packaging or packaging waste. Stores with an area of over 200 square meters will be required to participate in the system, collecting empty packaging and refunding deposits. For smaller stores, this will be voluntary, but they will still have to charge the deposit on covered packaging.
Deposit amount
The draft regulation states that the deposit is to be set at 50 groszy (approximately 0.14 EUR), but there will be additional consultations with the industry on the amount of the deposit to be added, e.g., to single-use plastic bottles – informed the Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, Mrs. Anita Sowińska. Part of the industry states that an appropriate amount would be 1 zloty (approximately 0.24 EUR). This amount will motivate customers to recyckle and at the same time is not burdensome for the household budgets.
Uncollected deposits will be used to finance the deposit system. The deposit is intended to encourage the return of packaging, thereby increasing the amount of reused and recycled raw materials used to produce packaging.
The industry's primary demand is a one-year delay in the mandatory collection of the deposit system. The sector argues that the implementing law was passed late (December 12, 2023), and there is still much to be done.
Long procedures
First, system operators must be appointed. Each must submit an application to the Ministry of Climate and Environment and wait for a license, a lengthy process potentially taking several months. This entity will then need to sign agreements with both beverage suppliers and retail chains that will be collecting the packaging. The logistics of packaging waste must also be finalized, determining the frequency and routes for collecting goods from individual stores.
Meeting the collection targets is unlikely, especially since the collection level must reach a minimum of 77% in the first year and increase in subsequent years. Failure to meet the targets will result in fines of 10 groszy for each kilogram of introduced but uncollected waste.
"The original deadline should be considered unrealistic due to the technical, organizational, and legal requirements in creating representative entities, the universality of the system, and equal market access conditions," wrote the Polish Federation of Food Producers Employers' Union (PFPŻ ZP) in its appeal to the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
VAT
Another industry demand is for the deposit to follow the product. It would be collected at each stage of the supply chain, when the bottle or can passes successively into the hands of, e.g., a wholesaler and later a retailer. It would prevent potential deposit fraud and enable retailers and system operators to settle collected and returned deposits quickly.
Producers want the deposit to be untaxed. Current regulations require retailers to pay VAT on the collected deposit, even though it does not increase the product's value. The Ministry assures this issue will be reconsulted to ensure system universality, allowing consumers to return bottles in as many stores as possible.
Deputy Minister Sowińska from the Ministry of Climate and Environment responded, "it would be very difficult, even impossible, and counterproductive for the industry." "From January 1, 2025, higher recycling levels will apply. We cannot achieve them without the deposit system" - she added.
In her opinion, the law may be 80% effective from January 2025; however, avoiding responsibility will negatively affect recycling levels.
The Ministry emphasizes it is preparing to amend the regulations on the deposit system, noting that they are currently collecting comments from producers, recyclers, retailers, and social organizations.
For now, the deposit system in Poland is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025.
Source: Rekopol/ Wiadomości handlowe nr 1/ 2024 / Forsal.pl / EY