How bottle return works when travelling
If you are travelling and like to use plastic bottles, you don’t have to do without them. Drinks in PET bottles are available all over the world and can be disposed of in public collection containers or returned to retailers almost everywhere. In addition, many countries have their own deposit systems or are currently introducing them, such as Austria on 1 January 2025. Plastic is also fantastic: in Rome and Istanbul, you can even exchange used plastic bottles for bus and train tickets. Or for dog food. France, meanwhile, is focusing on entertainment.
They hardly weigh anything and don’t break: plastic bottles made of PET are the ideal travelling companions. Whether at home or abroad – plastic bottles are available worldwide, are easy to transport, easy to store and can also be disposed of locally. Returning them is not only a matter of sustainability, but also of creativity.
Plastic bins and deposit system
Most holiday destinations have containers where travelers can dispose of their used plastic bottles in an environmentally friendly way. In addition, many regions, such as Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Croatia, have a deposit system similar to that in Germany. Even in the distant South Sea paradise of Hawaii. There, a beverage deposit of 5 cents is charged for each PET bottle, which is returned to so-called Beverage Container Redemption Centres, i.e. regional collection points. Austria has been charging a deposit of 0.25 euros on disposable drinks containers since 1 January 2025. Other countries, such as Italy and Spain, do not yet have a deposit system, nor do Turkey and France.
Environmentally friendly and fun
But when it comes to disposing of plastic bottles, these countries are extremely creative. In French supermarkets, for example, there are machines called “B:Bot“. The elegantly designed machines, pronounced “Bibotte”, take plastic bottles and immediately shred them into sparkling, recyclable mini-shreds. The highlight of this process shows why “plastic is fantastic”: the entire process takes place behind a glass pane through which the spectacle can be observed, which is particularly fascinating for children. On top of this, there is a reward for the plastic flakes handed in, which the retailer determines himself, for example in the form of vouchers or raffle tickets.
Tickets and dog food
In Rome, the “+Ricicli +Viaggi” project allows used plastic bottles to be exchanged for bus and train tickets. The initiative received an award for innovation in politics from the Vienna-based organization “The Innovation in Politics Institute” in 2022. The same machines can also be found in Istanbul, Türkiye, and the metropolis also has another waste disposal attraction: An Automat that does not give out a deposit voucher when plastic bottles are returned, but dry dog food, specially designed for the city’s stray dogs.
Valuable and reusable
Finally, anyone traveling to poorer regions of the world could donate their empty plastic bottles to the locals. For example, collectors in rural parts of Mexico can hand in PET bottles to the recycling companies IMER and PLANETA for a fee. The Plastic Bank also exchanges return bottles for money or services. In Nigeria, there is even a school that accepts used plastic bottles as school fees from parents.
With deposit systems or creative return options, an awareness is created for the proper disposal of plastic bottles. And they are easy to recycle – either thermally into fresh energy or materially into new products. However, sustainability also starts at the beginning of their life journey: Even during production and transportation, plastic bottles save a lot of energy and emissions compared to glass containers or metal cans due to their low melting point and low weight.
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