In three months, there will be a revolution in stores. There will be a risk of money fraud

• The deposit system will bring us closer to recycling levels and reduce the fines that Poland pays. However, it is unlikely that the fees for collection, transport and waste management for residents will decrease - says Magdalena Markiewicz, president of the PolKa recovery organization.
• In her opinion, many stores are putting off preparations until the last minute. Some manufacturers have also not yet signed contracts with operators.
• The distinguishing feature of the package on which the deposit will be imposed is a special label with a barcode. Packages without a code cannot be returned.

Business Insider spoke with Magdalena Markiewicz, president of the PolKa recovery organization, about the upcoming deposit system. In her opinion, the system will bring us closer to European recycling levels and reduce the amount of penalties that Poland pays (the so-called plastic tax amounted to PLN 2 billion in 2024).

However, she is not optimistic about the decrease in fees for waste collection, transport and management for residents . The installations will not have some of the raw waste they were designed for, namely PET and aluminum, but it will be difficult for municipalities to achieve significant savings on their removal.

When asked about the organization of the system, Markiewicz says:

Stores choose machines and sign contracts with manufacturers. Currently, they have dozens of models to choose from. There are internal machines, external machines, they are divided into three fractions, into two fractions, into one: those in which there is a mix of PET and aluminum.

The obligation to reimburse costs will be on the side of the operator that physically collects the packaging. Operators are waiting for guidelines from the Ministry of Climate and Environment, which will allow them to establish a system of joint settlements. Operators will collect all packaging - including manufacturers with whom they have not signed agreements.

The expert notes that even though the law has been in force for two years, many stores are postponing preparations until the last minute.

We receive signals from machine manufacturers that although there should be tens of thousands of such points, and the demand for these machines should also oscillate at the level of tens of thousands of ordered production, not all stores have decided to choose a machine and a supplier yet. There are some retail outlets that are still conducting tests. Some entities will probably wake up in September and start wondering how to fulfill this statutory obligation , which is also subject to an administrative penalty on the part of collection points.

- says Magdalena Markiewicz. She adds that there are also producers who have not signed agreements with operators yet.

He also points out that there is no shortage of room for abuse by dishonest customers . The distinguishing feature of the packaging on which the deposit will be imposed is a special label with a barcode. If the code is damaged, the packaging cannot be returned. And what if, for example, it is copied?

There is a certain risk of abuse, attempts to extract a deposit for packaging for which it was not collected. But that is why all these attributes of packaging are provided, describing its weight, shape too. Some machines have so-called shape recognition, where they recognize the exact shape of the bottle. Usually, beverage packaging differs from each other, so the machine recognizes the barcode, then recognizes the weight of the bottle, its shape and only then, if everything matches, does it pay the deposit.

If the deposit has been paid and the bottle or can is not in the deposit machine, the store will bear the loss.