Over 3 Bn Beverage Containers Returned in Hungary in 2025

Last year, people in Hungary returned more than 3 billion beverage containers (bottles, cans and glass bottles) through the MOHU REpont return system, which is almost 90% of the beverage containers that entered the market, MOHU, the company in charge, told MTI on Tuesday.

They pointed out that before the introduction of the MOHU REpont system, only a fraction of beverage packaging was recycled, with most of it ending up in municipal waste bins or, in the worst cases, on riverbanks. Thanks to the REpont system, however, these bottles are returned to the cycle and turned into new bottles. Last year, bottles made from raw materials obtained from REpont machines were already available.

They highlighted that by 2025, the redemption rate in Hungary had increased to 88.8%, indicating that the system is taking off much faster than expected, as the EU has set a target of 90% by 2027.

The announcement quoted Csaba Bozóki, director of institutional waste management at MOHU, who said that this is a real environmental success. Every year, billions of bottles, cans and glass containers are removed from the environment. Thanks to the REpont system, the valuable raw materials are counted, sorted, and ready for recycling.

Based on the data, people typically consume the most beverages during the summer heatwave or major holidays, and the most bottles are collected at vacation spots, in the capital, and in larger cities. On average, consumers returned 23 bottles per transaction at vending machines, which is an increase of 5 bottles compared to the 2024 average. The average number of bottles returned per person per year rose to 310, which is a significant increase compared to 101 in 2024.

They also noted that in 2025, the number of plastic bottles returned exceeded 1.5 billion, metal containers reached 1.3 billion while glass bottles exceeded 200 million. Redemption activity was strongest in the summer, especially in July and August, with February proving to be the quietest period of the year. The number of redemption points increased by almost 20%, meaning that there are now around 5,200 locations nationwide where items can be redeemed.

By the end of 2025, the system included 32,700 registered, redeemable products from 934 companies. Ninety-two% of registered products are single-use beverage containers, while 8% are multi-use, refillable bottles, according to a statement from MOHU.