Here in Norway, we also have bottle deposits. I make decent money on the material i collect - 2kr for 500ml. We sadly don’t have refillable bottles or glass deposits anymore. Another problem here is boatloads of Swedish and to an extent Danish containers spawning. Some foreign containers are accepted by machines but no refund comes from them, however this is quite desync-y and causes certain things to not be accepted (taxfree pepsi cans are my nemesis) Anyways. I’ve found 5-6 German containers floating around. We never go to Deutschland, so i don’t collect these. Swedish and Danish containers however i will collect, rinse and store, then deposit in their “home countries”.
Well, I explain in this clip the current German system with security marks for return machines that was invented in 2003. Before that, deposit existed for beer bottles and mineral water glass bottles since the 1920s. I don't know where you got the 110 years from since Sweden was the first country with deposit for beer bottles as early as in 1885. They invented a deposit for cans in 1984 and for PET bottles in the early 1990s. Talking about PET, that was invented in 1973 and mass production and use of plastic bottles became a thing from 1989 on. I hope these facts help to clarify. Thank you for your input.
Hallo, Alex! I am new to Germany. I’m curious about Pfand where it concerns cases of Beer? Is the case considered part of the Pfand system? Vielen Dank!
Hi, Troy! Welcome to Germany, and what an excellent question indeed! The beer cases (crates?) are part of the system! It depends a bit on the brewery that own them but in general, a beer case gets you € 1.50 if you return it at a Pfandautomat. Some automats accept only cases filled with empty bottles, others accept just the case without bottles (most REWE supermarkets do for example). It varies. I sometimes see an empty beer case left in a park by young people, and whenever I picked them up and returned them, I got either 1.50 or 2.00 Euros back. People enjoy hot Summer nights with a couple of beers in parks but are too lazy to clean up later on ... If you have any other question, feel free to ask - and have a greeat day.
Excellent question, Thank you for your comment. Since January 2024, milk and milk mix beverages are subject to a deposit of 25 cents when they are sold in PET bottles. Milk is rarely sold in glass bottles in Germany but some brands use them. There is NO deposit on those bottles (YET that is!). Once they're empty, you throw them into public glass recycling containers.
Hello and thank you for your question. Please read my answer to almost the exact question posed two months ago. 😏 Currently, You'll find it right under your question.
Hello & thank you for your follow-up question. 😉 It's 15 cents for those re-usable bottles made of hard plastic. 💶 The one-way soft plastic ones get you 25 cents. But even if there is no 50 cent deposit in Germany, "Pfand" can easily add up to several Euros. Therefore, bottles and cans are real money, unlike for example in the US. Have a great day!
From March 31st, 2024, on, Romania (I guess this is the country you're talking about) is part of the EU Schengen area. That means provided that you have the money, you simply book a plane flight or get yourself a train ticket or such and come to Germany. Simple as it. Romania & Germany are within the EU. You don't need a visa if that was your question.
@@sammaaran Thank you for your great question! 👍🏻 That slogan means that Pfand bottles should not to be thrown into trash bins but placed next to them. This way, people in need can pick them up easier and get the deposit for them at the automats at the supermarkets. "Pfand gehört daneben" translates to "Place bottles with deposit next to public trash bins".
@@matthuntelaar8486 First off, Thank you for your reply. I really enjoy discussing criticism and negative remarks. Who do you mean by "they" though? The deposit system was invented in 2005. Back then, you saw bottles and cans all over the place in the streets and in parks. It was a mess. Today, only 1.5% of all cans/bottles are not returned via the machines at any grocery store. Usually, families collect them at home and take them back at their weekly shopping visit. It's worth it since Pfand can easily add up to like 50, 60, 70 dollars equivalent in Euros. Those 1.5% of cans and bottles that are not being returned or either from lazy but dumb people (You lose cash money!) or tourists who don't care or are just ignorant of the system. But those cans and bottles don't lay around in public spaces for long anymore since they get almost immediately picked up by homeless people or people in need. Frankly, I don't have a problem with that. Recycling works. The number of not returned bottles and cans ist very low with 1.5%, and if people in need collect them and get some coins for it: Fine with me. Thank you again for your input. As I said, I especially enjoy critical remarks.
Here in Norway, we also have bottle deposits. I make decent money on the material i collect - 2kr for 500ml.
We sadly don’t have refillable bottles or glass deposits anymore.
Another problem here is boatloads of Swedish and to an extent Danish containers spawning.
Some foreign containers are accepted by machines but no refund comes from them, however this is quite desync-y and causes certain things to not be accepted (taxfree pepsi cans are my nemesis)
Anyways. I’ve found 5-6 German containers floating around. We never go to Deutschland, so i don’t collect these. Swedish and Danish containers however i will collect, rinse and store, then deposit in their “home countries”.
Thank you Alex!! I always see beer bottles on the street but didn't know I could get 8cents for them❤ I just found 5 of them😊
You're welcome! 😌 Go for it, 8 cents are ... 8 cents! Pfand can really add up pretty quickly to quite some money.
@@AlexTheGerman your right ☺️
This is over 110 years old system in some countries, in Europe.
Well, I explain in this clip the current German system with security marks for return machines that was invented in 2003. Before that, deposit existed for beer bottles and mineral water glass bottles since the 1920s. I don't know where you got the 110 years from since Sweden was the first country with deposit for beer bottles as early as in 1885. They invented a deposit for cans in 1984 and for PET bottles in the early 1990s. Talking about PET, that was invented in 1973 and mass production and use of plastic bottles became a thing from 1989 on. I hope these facts help to clarify. Thank you for your input.
Thank you for this informative video👍
@@the_people_tz You're very welcome!
Hallo, Alex! I am new to Germany. I’m curious about Pfand where it concerns cases of Beer? Is the case considered part of the Pfand system?
Vielen Dank!
Hi, Troy! Welcome to Germany, and what an excellent question indeed! The beer cases (crates?) are part of the system! It depends a bit on the brewery that own them but in general, a beer case gets you € 1.50 if you return it at a Pfandautomat. Some automats accept only cases filled with empty bottles, others accept just the case without bottles (most REWE supermarkets do for example). It varies. I sometimes see an empty beer case left in a park by young people, and whenever I picked them up and returned them, I got either 1.50 or 2.00 Euros back. People enjoy hot Summer nights with a couple of beers in parks but are too lazy to clean up later on ... If you have any other question, feel free to ask - and have a greeat day.
Hello Alex, my beer bottles are not accepted in Aldi or Lidl. Can you suggest where I can dispose them?
Brown and green glass bottles can be best returned at almost any REWE or EDEKA market. All the best and thanks for asking!
What about wine bottles?
Wine bottles usually have no deposit on them.
What about glass milk bottles
Excellent question, Thank you for your comment. Since January 2024, milk and milk mix beverages are subject to a deposit of 25 cents when they are sold in PET bottles. Milk is rarely sold in glass bottles in Germany but some brands use them. There is NO deposit on those bottles (YET that is!). Once they're empty, you throw them into public glass recycling containers.
15 Cents.
Is this a Swedish or German invention?
Hello and thank you for your question. Please read my answer to almost the exact question posed two months ago. 😏 Currently, You'll find it right under your question.
Did u say 15 cents or 50 cents for the sprite soda bottle??
Hello & thank you for your follow-up question. 😉 It's 15 cents for those re-usable bottles made of hard plastic. 💶 The one-way soft plastic ones get you 25 cents. But even if there is no 50 cent deposit in Germany, "Pfand" can easily add up to several Euros. Therefore, bottles and cans are real money, unlike for example in the US. Have a great day!
alex how can we come to germany from romani
From March 31st, 2024, on, Romania (I guess this is the country you're talking about) is part of the EU Schengen area. That means provided that you have the money, you simply book a plane flight or get yourself a train ticket or such and come to Germany. Simple as it. Romania & Germany are within the EU. You don't need a visa if that was your question.
"Pfand gehört daneban" what is that?
@@sammaaran Thank you for your great question! 👍🏻 That slogan means that Pfand bottles should not to be thrown into trash bins but placed next to them. This way, people in need can pick them up easier and get the deposit for them at the automats at the supermarkets. "Pfand gehört daneben" translates to "Place bottles with deposit next to public trash bins".
This is a scam. Thank you Germany.
@@matthuntelaar8486 Why do you say, please enlarge. Actually, the system works pretty well. I love to hear what exactly you consider to be a scam.
@AlexTheGerman they are betting on people not bothering getting their deposit back. They are making a shit ton of money. It's just business.
@@matthuntelaar8486 First off, Thank you for your reply. I really enjoy discussing criticism and negative remarks. Who do you mean by "they" though? The deposit system was invented in 2005. Back then, you saw bottles and cans all over the place in the streets and in parks. It was a mess. Today, only 1.5% of all cans/bottles are not returned via the machines at any grocery store. Usually, families collect them at home and take them back at their weekly shopping visit. It's worth it since Pfand can easily add up to like 50, 60, 70 dollars equivalent in Euros. Those 1.5% of cans and bottles that are not being returned or either from lazy but dumb people (You lose cash money!) or tourists who don't care or are just ignorant of the system. But those cans and bottles don't lay around in public spaces for long anymore since they get almost immediately picked up by homeless people or people in need. Frankly, I don't have a problem with that. Recycling works. The number of not returned bottles and cans ist very low with 1.5%, and if people in need collect them and get some coins for it: Fine with me. Thank you again for your input. As I said, I especially enjoy critical remarks.