5 ms·

This also the story of failure and counterproductive incentives of the so called Mehrwegquote, multiple use deposit bottles, which used to be above 70% in the 9

by mxfh 10y ago

This also the story of failure and counterproductive incentives of the so called Mehrwegquote, multiple use deposit bottles, which used to be above 70% in the 90s and is now as low as 40% and was scrapped altogether as an environmental politics target last summer, the original target was 80%. The single use plastic bottle deposit was introduced at multiple of the cost of the multi use bottle to boost use of the latter, but somehow that turned out to have the opposite effect. Mostly because of by having a deposit on the single use, it is perceived by most as being equal to multi use in it's environmental cost footprint and single use having less logistical requirements for retail. Some German Background: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einwegpfand#Die_Entwicklung_bis_heute https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einwegpfand#Die_Entwicklung_bi... http://refillables.grrn.org/content/western-europes-experience-refillable-beverage-containers http://refillables.grrn.org/content/western-europes-experien... http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/10497-the-mystery-of-bottlecan-deposits-pfand/?page=5#comment-2366929 http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/10497-the-mystery-...

subpixel 10y ago
That's disheartening to read. I found the way beer bottles were reused in Germany truly impressive, especially coming from the US and knowing the scale of waste the German system avoided.
- mxfh 10y ago
  Beer bottles are doing fine, but pretty much everything else (bottled water, soft drinks) went away to be replaced by single use. You can still do a beer Club Mate diet by exclusively using returnables.
  - matt4077 10y ago
    The beer bottle system has also come under pressure. It used to be that most beer was sold locally, and that most breweries used the same bottles anyway. Now, they choices have expanded and you might by a bavarian beer in Hamburg. And many have started to use individually styled bottles to strengthen their brand. These go to a local plant where, more often than not, they're now destroyed and recycled instead of returned to their origin to be reused.
    - subpixel 10y ago
      [in old man's voice] I swear Augustiner tasted so much better when you could only get it in Bavaria.
- sveme 10y ago
  Beer is actually not such an issue as most people prefer to drink their beer from glass bottles. Water and soft drinks are another story. Though I would really like to see an ecological assessment whether the bottle reuse system is more eco-friendly than the single-use system with deposit and recycling.
  - mxfh 10y ago
    Single use PETs are not that much worse or even better, for larger bottles according to this Swiss study: https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/36446.pdf https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/36446.p... [EN: p25ff]
    - subpixel 10y ago
      I suspect plastic is better in the small number of countries where plastic is recycled and doesn't wind up at sea.

by mxfh 10y ago

subpixel 10y ago

That's disheartening to read. I found the way beer bottles were reused in Germany truly impressive, especially coming from the US and knowing the scale of waste the German system avoided.

mxfh 10y ago
Beer bottles are doing fine, but pretty much everything else (bottled water, soft drinks) went away to be replaced by single use. You can still do a beer Club Mate diet by exclusively using returnables.
- matt4077 10y ago
  The beer bottle system has also come under pressure. It used to be that most beer was sold locally, and that most breweries used the same bottles anyway. Now, they choices have expanded and you might by a bavarian beer in Hamburg. And many have started to use individually styled bottles to strengthen their brand. These go to a local plant where, more often than not, they're now destroyed and recycled instead of returned to their origin to be reused.
  - subpixel 10y ago
    [in old man's voice] I swear Augustiner tasted so much better when you could only get it in Bavaria.
sveme 10y ago
Beer is actually not such an issue as most people prefer to drink their beer from glass bottles. Water and soft drinks are another story. Though I would really like to see an ecological assessment whether the bottle reuse system is more eco-friendly than the single-use system with deposit and recycling.
- mxfh 10y ago
  Single use PETs are not that much worse or even better, for larger bottles according to this Swiss study: https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/36446.pdf https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/36446.p... [EN: p25ff]
  - subpixel 10y ago
    I suspect plastic is better in the small number of countries where plastic is recycled and doesn't wind up at sea.