| Law Summary | Act on packaging management and packaging waste |
| Date Enacted | August 30, 2023 |
| Date Implemented | January 1, 2025 [1] |
| Containers Covered |
TBD |
| Beverages Covered |
TBD |
| Beverages Not Covered |
TBD |
| Containers Covered | TBD |
| Amount of Deposit |
TBD |
| Fees and Taxes |
TBD |
| Recovery System | TBD |
| Unredeemed Deposits | TBD |
| Program Success |
TBD |
Details
In response to the EU’s 2019 directive on single-use plastics, Poland drafted legislation to amend its Act on Packaging Management and Packaging Waste. [2] The amendment refers to both packaging materials and beverage containers, establishing a beverage deposit return system for the latter. Initially announced by Poland’s government in 2021, the Ministry of Environment declared in 2022 that the program would begin in 2023.
However, severe delays affected the legislation’s progression. Three years after its initial announcement, the bill was passed on August 30, 2023, amending the act to have the program now start in 2025. [3]
The law mandates that retail stores with more than 200 m2 of retail space to collect beverage containers of the brands they stock, whereas smaller retail stores can choose to opt into collecting beverages for deposit. [4]The law also designates that unredeemed deposits will be kept by producers to finance the DRS. The legislation does not prescribe the number of operators, leaving the decision to the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to determine whether the system will be centralized or decentralized, along with establishing precise rules for collection and deposits. The law explicitly sets the maximum deposit amount at 2 PLN. [5]
In August 2024, a new pilot deposit program was launched in Warsaw as part of the broader preparation for a national DRS. The program is a joint effort involving a major retailer Carrefour, a logistics company, a system operator, and a water producer. Customers are able to return glass bottles, PET bottles (>3L), and aluminum cans (<1L) at Carrefour locations and receive an electronic voucher from RVMs in these stores. The e-voucher is worth 0.5 PLN (about 0.13 USD) for glass and 0.05 PLN (0.01 USD) for PET. There are a total of 40 RVMs in 36 locations. The program is set to end at the end of 2024. [6]
Footnotes
[1] "Deposit system in Poland." AgroberichtenBuitenland. March 6, 2024.
[2] “Form no. 3380 Amending the Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management and Certain Other Acts.” Sejm of the Republic of Poland. July 13, 2023.
[3] “The return of the returnable bottle.” Michał Olszewski. Energy Transition the Global Energiewende. November 23, 2023.
[4] “Form no. 3380 Amending the Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management and Certain Other Acts.” Sejm of the Republic of Poland. July 13, 2023.
[5] Ibid.
[6] New pilot deposit refund system launched in Warsaw to boost recycling. PolkskiRadio. August 16, 2024.
Last Updated on September 12, 2024