Áder Flags Delay in Full-scale Rollout of Bottle Return System

Recycling

János Áder, the former president of Hungary who heads the board of trustees of the Blue Planet Foundation, said manufacturers would be required to put return codes on bottles and cans from July 1 of next year, instead of January 1, at an event in Budapest on Wednesday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Áder said the full-scale rollout of the bottle and can return system would be delayed because of "manufacturers' lobbying activities".

From January 1, bottles with return codes will be on store shelves along with bottles without the codes, he said, conceding "that could cause problems for consumers".

Mohu, a company owned by oil and gas company MOL that took over a 35-year concession to manage Hungary's municipal waste collection in the summer, is investing around HUF 50 billion to install reverse vending machines for bottles and cans across the country. The investment will be recouped from extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees.

The uniform deposit fee for bottles and cans has been set at HUF 50.

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