Consumers are sometimes unclear about the empties tax. A Lidl store manager names important differences between disposable and reusable.
Munich – Again and again we hear and read from consumers that they are turned away at the discounter or supermarket when they want to return their deposit. This is regulated in the Packaging Act. But many people don't know that. It is problematic when dealers themselves do not know their way around and turn away customers. A branch manager at Lidl is trying to clarify the matter.
Lidl branch manager explains under what conditions you can get your deposit back
He posted a video on TikTok in which he promised clarification. “Do I still get my deposit for this, don’t I?” he asks the camera while waving around a crushed can and a plastic bottle without a label. The man, who even calls himself “the.branch manager” on TikTok, explains that “the deposit logo” is “absolutely required” for disposable bottles, “otherwise the deposit cannot be paid out”. Otherwise you can only “hope for goodwill from the company”. With reusable items, the label doesn't even have to be on it to receive money.
When it comes to cans, it doesn't matter whether they are crushed or intact. “If the deposit logo can still be seen somewhere at the back and is not damaged,” that means that the retailer still has to take the can back. The Lidl employee concludes by pointing out that “everything that is reusable can also be done without a label.”
The deposit rule is still unclear to many consumers
Looking at the comments, there actually seems to be a lot of ambiguity on the topic. A user states, for example, that there are reusable glass bottles at Lidl or Aldi that charge a 25 cent deposit. This is disposable, the branch manager then corrects. Another, who identifies himself as a “branch manager at another company,” claims that a crushed can is voided. “Absolutely legally wrong! That’s why I made a video, so that this half-knowledge doesn’t win,” counters his colleague.
According to the Packaging Act, retailers who stock disposable beverage packaging are obliged to take back all packaging with a disposable deposit. Two conditions must be met: The deposit logo must be recognizable and the sales area must be larger than 200 square meters. “It doesn’t matter whether the container is dirty, crushed or otherwise damaged,” said Tristan Jorde from the Hamburg consumer advice center to
NDR
. If the machine does not accept the empties, the staff is called upon.
Reusable items are not subject to the Packaging Act
The Packaging Act does not apply to reusable packaging, as the consumer advice center informs. Because there is only a civil law agreement between the buyer and seller when it comes to reusable deposits, there is no general obligation to take them back. This means that retailers can reject bottles that they do not sell themselves. On January 1, 2024, the deposit was expanded to include dairy products.
(mt)