Carrefour to test deposit system. We know where bottle machines will appear

On August 8, a pilot of the deposit system was launched in Carrefour stores in Warsaw. In addition to the Carrefour Polska chain of stores, its organizers are PolKa – Polska Kaucja (one of the first registered deposit system operators on the Polish market), InPost and the water producer Muszynianka.

The system, which began operating in the capital, will be implemented to the extent that it will become applicable in Poland at the beginning of next year.

As part of the pilot, three packaging fractions will be collected from customers for a fee:

• returnable glass bottles,

• PET bottles up to 3 liters,

• aluminum cans up to 1 liter capacity.

Deposit system currently in 6 stores

The collection in Carrefour stores will take place automatically, i.e. in specialized sorting machines, so-called bottle machines. Initially, it will be carried out in four Warsaw branches of the chain (Carrefour Atrium Reduta, Carrefour Westfield Arkadia, Carrefour Galeria Wileńska, Carrefour Plac Unii), as well as in two supermarkets near Warsaw (Carrefour Otwock, ul. Matejki and Carrefour Żyrardów, ul. 1 Maja). In the following weeks, the pilot will cover other stores in Warsaw and the surrounding area. In total, 36 stores of various formats belonging to Carrefour will participate in the project.

– In the pilot carried out in Warsaw Carrefour stores, customers, in exchange for returned packaging, will receive payment in the form of e-vouchers printed directly by bottle machines, with which they will be able to immediately pay for purchases in the chain’s stores. However, e-vouchers must be used on the same day and in the store where the waste was returned. The final amount of the e-voucher will be 50 groszy for each returned glass return bottle and 5 groszy for each returned PET bottle (up to 3 liters) and aluminum can (up to 1 liter). Initially, the pilot will cover only bottles and cans from the entire Carrefour chain, and then also others available on the market, including in competitor stores – Carrefour informs.

The pilot of the deposit system in Warsaw will last four months.

Let us remind you that from January 1, 2025, a deposit system will be introduced for single-use plastic bottles up to 3 litres, reusable glass bottles up to 1.5 litres and metal cans with a capacity of up to 1 litre.