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German Deposit Changes: A Smelly Situation for Supermarkets in 2024? 🥛💰🚫

Get ready for a scent shift in supermarkets from January 1st, 2024, as deposit regulations extend beyond beverages, potentially leading to pungent aromas.

The plan is to make deposit-free PET bottles or beverage cans a thing of the past. Consumers will have to pay an extra 25 cents for milk, ayran, and mixed milk drinks in disposable plastic bottles.

Embrace the Mold and Smell?

The hygienic aspects of depositing milk products are yet to be clarified. Apart from mold, unpleasant odors might also develop in vending machines. Customers may be asked to empty and rinse packages with tap water before returning them. However, compliance with such instructions remains to be seen.

Eckhard Heuser, Managing Director of the German Dairy Industry Association, comments, "Plastic milk bottles belong in the yellow bag, not in the reverse vending machines." The German Retail Association shares similar concerns, as deposit machines at store entrances may become contaminated, posing a hygienic risk. Coated packs containing dairy products may also affect the recycling process.

Past Deposit Practices

Deposit regulations can be categorized into two types: reusable and disposable.

1. Reusable bottles are made of glass or PET plastic and always have a deposit, regardless of their content, at around 15 cents except for beer bottles, which cost only 8 cents.
2. A deposit is also applied to many disposable drink containers: 25 cents per can, regardless of material (plastic or glass). However, the deposit depends on the drink's contents.

Soft drinks, water, beer, carbonated nectar, mixed milk drinks, iced tea, and coffee with less than 50% milk, as well as alcopops, all incur deposits. Since 2022, deposits are also payable on wine, sparkling wine, juices, and non-carbonated nectar in disposable plastic bottles. Wine in glass bottles is excluded, but milk and mixed milk drinks (at least 50%) in cans receive deposit fees.

Drop Off Locations

Retailers usually have to pay a deposit for returnable bottles, even if they were purchased elsewhere. However, retailers are not required to accept returnable bottles they do not sell themselves. Disposable bottles can be returned to any store that sells one-way bottles made of the same material. This means beverage vendors like cola sellers must accept plastic mineral water bottles or beer cans.

Small stores under 200 square meters only need to accept disposable packaging for products they sell themselves.

Optimizing Hygiene with Enrichment Insights

To manage hygiene concerns with the return of deposit-bearing milk and plastic containers beginning 2024 in Germany, supermarkets can implement the following strategies:

1. Separate collection points to prevent cross-contamination
2. Regular cleaning schedules
3. Clear labeling
4. Staff training on proper handling and cleaning procedures
5. Customer education on the importance of proper handling and cleaning
6. Automated systems for sorting and cleaning returned containers
7. Strict hygiene protocols
8. Partnership with recycling facilities abiding by high hygiene standards
9. Establishing a feedback system
10. Compliance with local health and safety regulations

By implementing these measures, supermarkets can effectively handle hygiene concerns related to returned deposit-bearing plastic and milk bottles, maintaining a clean environment for all customers.

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