Rules of the Road, and other Places: Volume 1 - Bottle deposits

A typical American bottle return station.

    In the United States, we are accustomed to see machines like these, used for returning plastic and glass bottles for their 5-10 cent deposits.  Some people do so fairly regularly, although many will either simply recycle their bottles, or throw them away, as the price of the deposit doesn't necessarily warrant the additional time and energy spent on retrieving it.  Here in Germany however, it is a far different story.

Mehrweg on the left, Einweg on the right.

     The German bottle deposit system operates in a slightly different way to the one that we are used to.  Here, there are two different types of bottles which have deposits, which are differentiated not only by there prices, 15 or 25 cents, but also by how they are recycled.  "Einwegpflaschen," or "single use" bottles, are recycled in the same way that bottles typically are in the U.S.; they are broken down for scrap plastic.  "Mehrwegpflaschen," or "reusable" bottles, are cleaned and refilled by the company selling the particular drink.

The "Einweg" symbol

     Einwegpflaschen (25 cent deposit, or "Pfand") can be identified by their distinctive symbol, which is either blue or green, as well as the extraordinarily thin plastic that the bottles are made out of.  The shape of the bottle in the picture above is a common form for water bottles here.  It is not unusual to see someone walking around with a bottle of that size (1-1.5 liters), as it is more cost effective to do so.

The standard bottle case design in Germany.

     Mehrwegflaschen (15 cent Pfand) have two distinctive characteristics, which make them instantly recognizable.  Glass bottles will have two approximately 1cm wide rings, one at the flat end of the bottle, and one in the approximate middle of the bottle.  Plastic bottles may also have these rings, but are more readily distinguished by the broad ridge below the cap.  Both of these types of bottles are returned to the company which produces the given drink, which then removes the labels, sanitizes the bottles, and then refills them.  Regardless of the type of bottle that you buy, make sure to get the deposit.  Depending on what you are buying, the deposit may be almost as much as the drink!

Proverb of the Day:

Don't ask why the water is fizzy.  They don't know either.

*Source links included for stock images.

**The background music is from a personal music project in progress.
***I apologize for the delay.  This post was intended for last Saturday, April 26.