§30 Acceptance by retailers of deposit-bearing beverage container

Legal provisions: According to Point l, Annex X, ‘Member States shall ensure that final distributors are obligated to accept the deposit bearing packaging of the packaging material and format that they distribute and to provide end users with redeemed deposits when the deposit bearing packaging is returned, unless end users have equally accessible means to redeem the deposit after the use of the deposit bearing packaging, through one of the collection channels that, for food packaging, ensure food grade recycling and that are authorised for that purpose by the national authorities. This obligation does not apply where the sale surface area does not make possible for end users to return deposit bearing packaging. However, final distributors will always have to accept the return of the empty packaging of products they sell’. Article 50(11) sets that ‘By 1 January 2029, Member States shall ensure that at least the deposit and return systems established under paragraph 2 of this Article following the entry into force of this Regulation meet the minimum requirements listed in Annex X. The minimum requirements listed in Annex X shall not apply to deposit and return systems established before the entry into force of this Regulation which achieve the 90 % target set out in paragraph 1 of this Article by 1 January 2029. Member States shall endeavour to ensure that existing single-use deposit and return systems comply with the minimum requirements in Annex X when they are first reviewed. If the 90 % target is not achieved by 1 January 2029, existing single-use deposit and return systems shall comply with the minimum requirements in Annex X at the latest by 1 January 2035’. Commission’s interpretation: According to the minimum requirements for DRS as set out in Annex X, final distributors must accept empty packaging of the products they sell and redeem the deposit. This obligation applies without proof of purchase. Furthermore, Member States must ensure that final distributors are obliged to accept all the deposit-bearing packaging of the same packaging material and format that they sell and pay out the deposit to the end user. The obligation to redeem the deposit does not apply where the sale surface area of the final distributor does not make it possible for the final distributor to accept the return the deposit-bearing packaging, or if end users have equally accessible means to redeem the deposit through another established and equally accessible collection channel for single use beverage packaging, authorised for that purpose. Member States must establish how these exemptions apply. The requirements specified in Annex X only apply to DRS established after 11 February 2025 or if a DRS does not achieve the 90 % separate collection targets by 1 January 2029. Consequently, DRS that must not fulfil the minimum requirements are not concerned by the take-back obligations set in PPWR.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07