The deposit system in Germany is intended to protect the environment.
However, there are some facts that consumers often do not know at all.
We give you an overview.
Munich - around 17.4 billion single-use plastic bottles are produced in Germany every year, which is around two million per hour.
This creates a total of over 450,000 tons of plastic waste.
This corresponds to the weight of more than six cruise ships, each with a capacity of 2200 passengers.
It's good that there is an alternative: returnable bottles that are accepted in every supermarket and discounter.
But what rights do consumers have who have forgotten to redeem the deposit when shopping?
Can you also request payment at a later date?
And can consumers ask for their deposit to be paid out in another branch?
Returning deposit receipts: supermarkets and discounters are bound by law
Customers who forgot to redeem their deposit when shopping can also do so later.
According to the general statute of limitations set out in the German Civil Code (BGB), the receipt is valid for three years.
Retailers are obliged to accept the receipt within the limitation period.
The prerequisite for this: the writing on the receipt must be legible.
With the thermal paper used, however, the writing may fade without any further effects.
However, the date, address and barcode should remain recognizable.
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Deposit: As a rule, it can only be returned in the branch in which it was triggered
Actually, the deposit can only be returned in the branch in which it was released.
Customers are therefore dependent on the goodwill of the retail chains when they want to hand in their deposit in another branch.
However, it is not possible, for example, to hand in an Aldi deposit in an Edeka store.
Despite the environmentally friendly effect of returnable bottles, the new figures from the Federal Environment Agency show a trend reversal.
In 2019, only 41.8 percent of beverage packaging was reusable.
The sale of beverage cans, which are particularly harmful to the climate, rose by ten percent to 3.9 billion pieces.
The packaging law specifies a reusable share of 70 percent.
