Companies have to pre-pay their packaging disposal costs in Germany, either by making things deposit (bottles and some glass jars) or paying the costs outright

Companies have to pre-pay their packaging disposal costs in Germany, either by making things deposit (bottles and some glass jars) or paying the costs outright (which gets them a little recycling symbol). Easy way to see the difference: yoghurt containers - fairly hefty plastic in the USA, almost eggshell-like plastic or deposit glass jars in Germany. Eggs come in cardboard, never styrofoam. The only common seriously durable, non-deposit packaging around here are glass bottles and metal cans, as both of those things are easy and profitable to sort and recycle.