Failure of small stores to join the deposit scheme could mean a significant reduction in their turnover

“Everywhere the deposit system was introduced (…) it was clear that if small stores did not participate in the system, they would lose their turnover (…). Such a decline in sales volume, with poor forecasts, (.. .) Andrzej Gantner, Vice President of the Polish Federation of Food Producers and Employers (PFPŻ), said on Monday at a press conference about the planned deposit system, that this could reach about 20 percent and noted that “in theory, small shops are not obligated to exist In the (PAP deposit) system, it is only available for stores with an area of ​​​​more than 200 square meters.”

He also stressed that the waste collected under the deposit system is not worthless garbage, because each bottle has a specific value. “The store also has to make sure it’s assembled in the system (…) You can’t suddenly have small stores (…) having to build huge warehouses in the back to keep the assembled packaging (…) and that’s the opposite of services,” Gantner added. Logistics seems like a small thing, but it’s very important.”

“What we are saying as the beverage industry is that the system must be created and the law must be amended in such a way that we can take care of all types of stores, while also paying special attention to small and medium-sized stores,” Gantner also said.

The Vice President of PFPŻ also made several demands that the industry should take into account. This includes, among others: o Ensuring a transition period for packaging without deposit labeling and precise definition of ownership rights to packaging waste. “In theory, the law stipulates that the operator or representative entity is the owner of the waste it has collected itself. Another sentence is missing – that is, it is the owner of the waste it has collected and which belongs to its customers,” he explained.

The demands also included, among other things, the following: The issue of allowing non-returnable reusable bottle deposits to be used to purchase new bottles, without including the deposit in the VAT tax base or exempting separately collected waste from the fee for polluting public areas.

“The organizations representing the beverage industry and working for the environment jointly emphasize the necessity of introducing a deposit system to achieve the goals of the closed-loop economy of beverage packaging, fulfilling the obligations imposed on beverage producers, and call for the adoption of key legislation aimed at ensuring the tightness and effectiveness of the national system.” – wrote in the press release issued by PFPŻ on Monday. It was confirmed that the Polish deposit system would be “the second largest to date in Europe.”

In mid-June of this year. The Ministry of Climate announced the decision to exclude packages of milk and its derivatives from the deposit system. “The result of these consultations (regarding the amendment to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Act – PAP) was, among other things, the adoption of a very important request from the dairy industry. We decided – after taking into account all these comments from manufacturers, operators and stores,” said the Deputy Minister: , as well as local governments – about excluding packages of milk and dairy products from the deposit system.”

According to the draft amendment to the Law on Packaging Waste Management, the deposit system in Poland is scheduled to start operating from the beginning of 2025. Its aim is to reduce the amount of mixed municipal waste collected by municipalities and increase the level of recycling. Large stores with an area of ​​more than 200 square meters will have to collect empty packaging and return the deposit. Smaller stores, on the other hand, will collect a deposit, but joining the package collection scheme will be voluntary.

Unclaimed deposits will be used to fund the deposit system. The deposit aims to encourage the return of packaging and increase the amount of reused and processed raw materials used to produce the packaging. The system covers three types of packaging: plastic bottles up to 3 litres, reusable bottles up to 1.5 litres, and metal cans up to 1 litre. (door)

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