It’s both. A lot of bottlers use reusable bottles, thick walled bottles (15ct deposit) that are sold in crates. For a lot of soft drinks and water they tend to

It’s both. A lot of bottlers use reusable bottles, thick walled bottles (15ct deposit) that are sold in crates. For a lot of soft drinks and water they tend to be made from PET (because it’s lighter than Glass). Don’t get me started on the German habit of buying water in crates rather than using perfectly fine tap water Then you also have thin-walled PET bottles which are 25 ct deposit and one-use. Return rates are rather high because of the high deposit. The crates are often a PITA to deal with because you need to return them to a shop that sells the same bottles (there are some standards, but some bottlers think a non-standard bottle is a USP). Whereas the 25ct bottles must be taken back from any store that sells 25ct bottles themselves.