About: deposit return schemes

Blue, yellow or white? Recycling varies widely in the EU

Deposit return and extended producer responsibility schemes are everywhere in the EU but have very different rules. Does this present a barrier to meeting the EU’s recycling objectives?

Pressure mounts on EU member states to meet plastic recycling goals

Pressure is increasing on member states to recycle 77% of plastic bottles by 2025 and reduce waste.

Resolving plastic packaging waste: Can deposit return schemes provide a breakthrough?

The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive sets a 90% separate collection target for plastic beverage bottles by 2029. Policymakers are debating whether deposit return schemes (DRS) can be the solution to achieve this target.

Recycling’s powerful waste-fighting arsenal

Two of recycling’s main tools are used to varying degrees across Europe and now the industry and member states are considering how best to leverage them and help create what has been touted as the "internal market for recycling".

Injecting responsibility into recycling

Collecting and recycling waste is more important than ever, since EU targets ask more and more from member states. But national capitals face a dilemma about how best to recycle more, as two distinct schemes offer two very different solutions.

Europe’s packaging headache

European Union members will have to recycle at least 70% of packaging by 2030, under new rules brokered earlier this year. But there are complex mechanisms behind the recycling curtain and not all countries are ready yet to keep up with the pace.