Estonians keep returning bottles actively despite unchanged 10-cent deposit
Although Estonia's 10-cent container deposit has not changed since 2015 and inflation has eroded its value, residents continue returning bottles at high rates.
Estonia's deposit return system operator, Eesti Pandipakend, collected more than 355 million single-use containers last year, roughly 1 percent more than in 2024. Return rates reached 86 percent for glass, 91 percent for metal, and 88 percent for plastic.
Deposit unchanged since 2015
The deposit amount was last adjusted in 2015, when rates for different beverage container types were standardized at 10 cents. Prices have risen substantially since then, yet return rates have stayed high even as the deposit remained frozen.
Dagny Repp, head of packaging waste at the Climate Ministry's Circular Economy Department, said there is currently no need to raise the deposit while return rates remain stable, adding that the issue could be revisited if returns begin noticeably declining.
Where unreturned containers go
Some deposit containers never make it back to return machines — they end up in regular trash or recycling, get damaged, or, as Repp noted, leave Estonia entirely, such as when foreign visitors take purchased beverages home with them. Other containers simply don't show up in a given year's statistics because they were bought in one year and returned the next.
Eesti Pandipakend posted €55.5 million in revenue and a net profit of €2.15 million last year. Most of its revenue comes from deposits on containers placed on the market, followed by income from selling packaging waste and handling fees charged to packaging companies.
