Slovakia’s Deposit Return Scheme Success Story: Sustaining a 90%+ Collection Rate

Slovakia’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has developed into one of Europe’s high-performing deposit return systems. Launched on 1 January 2022 after just 10 months of preparation, the scheme now achieves a collection rate of over 90%, supported by efficient operations, strong circularity principles and a reliable digital infrastructure.

The Slovak beverage market includes around 1.2 billion PET bottles and cans annually. Consumers can return beverage containers through almost 3,700 collection points, with more than 70% operating as automated collection points equipped with Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs). PET bottles and cans are separated already at the RVM level, helping maintain high material purity and improving the efficiency of further sorting and recycling.

Logistics are another important part of the system. Around 65 collection vehicles are deployed every day, with routes planned using collection orders, historical data, expected material volumes, store locations, warehouse availability and traffic conditions. Average vehicle utilisation increased from 72% in 2024 to 83% in 2025, while the number of kilometres driven decreased by more than 8% year on year.

Circularity is built into the Slovak Deposit Return Scheme through a fair-share principle that allows producers to purchase recycled material while ensuring its use in PET-to-PET and can-to-can recycling. This helps keep valuable packaging materials in a closed loop and supports a more efficient circular economy.

The scheme also focuses on education and accessibility. Educational materials for schools help younger generations understand recycling and circularity, while QR codes on Reverse Vending Machines provide audio guidance for blind and visually impaired users. The machines have also been tested together with wheelchair users to identify and remove accessibility barriers.

Behind the scheme is a complex DRS IT ecosystem powered by Sensoneo, connecting consumers, retailers, producers, collection points, logistics and the scheme operator. The platform supports processes such as product registration, invoicing, self-billing and daily operational transactions, while handling data related to more than one billion returned containers.

Slovakia’s DRS success story shows how efficient logistics, high-quality material recovery, circularity and scalable IT infrastructure can work together to sustain a 90%+ collection rate and support the long-term performance of a national Deposit Return Scheme.