Deposit and return schemes: Europe's north-south divide
Channel: Investigate Europe
Date: 2023-04-27

The EU produces 3.6 million tonnes of PET bottles every year, 50% of which end up in the oceans, landfills and incinerators. 

One of the methods to recycle these bottles are deposit and return schemes, or DRS for short. These are reverse vending machines that reward consumers for returning their bottles. 

However, there is a clear European north-south divide when it comes to DRS implementation: Investigate Europe travelled to Italy and Norway and found two different realities.

Read our Wasteland investigation: https://www.investigate-europe.eu/en/2023/wasteland-plastic-recycling/