Poland’s deposit-return system shifts beverage demand as glass costs remain unresolved

More than 5 billion containers returned

Poland’s deposit-return system has rapidly become part of everyday beverage purchasing, collecting more than 5 billion bottles and cans during its first year. According to data from the Ministry of Climate and Environment cited by dlahandlu.pl, the national collection network now exceeds 65,500 points.

The system was designed primarily to raise collection rates for beverage packaging, but its effects are spreading across retail shelves and product development. Producers and retailers must manage packaging changes, return logistics and infrastructure investment, while consumers are reconsidering how much single-use packaging they bring home.

Retailers have not seen a mass rejection of bottled beverages. Water, carbonated drinks and juices remain established purchases, particularly for work, travel and other occasions when convenience matters. The shift is more visible in household consumption, where larger packs, reusable bottles, filters and carbonation machines offer alternatives to repeatedly buying and returning individual containers.

Concentrates and sugar-free drinks gain ground

Carrefour Polska has recorded greater interest in water sold in larger formats, especially 5-litre containers, as well as filters and home carbonation machines, according to company executive Paweł Gadawski. Aldi Polska purchasing director Szymon Czubak also reported higher demand for syrups and concentrates used with carbonation machines, although customers continue to buy bottled mineral water, soft drinks and juices and regularly use Aldi’s reverse-vending machines.

Market Monitoring Centre data cited by dlahandlu.pl show that the value of carbonation-machine syrup sales rose 277% year on year in the first half of 2026. Distribution also widened: the products were available in about 20% of stores at the beginning of the year and approximately 25% during the first half. The category remains small compared with the overall beverage market, but its growth gives retailers a recurring consumables segment and allows manufacturers to sell beverage ingredients without shipping a finished drink in a single-use bottle.

Consumer preferences are also changing within conventional soft drinks. In the first half of 2026, sales of sugar-free beverages increased 13% year on year, while sales of products containing sugar fell 7%, according to the Market Monitoring Centre. Sugar-free products now represent 38% of the carbonated beverage market by value. By contrast, sugar-free variants account for only 2.9% of carbonation-machine syrup sales, leaving room for manufacturers to expand zero-sugar formulations in that segment.

Single-use glass exposes the cost dispute

The wider carbonated beverage category is not expanding uniformly. Its value declined 1% year on year in the first half of 2026, even as sugar-free products and concentrates advanced. The figures point to a reallocation of spending between recipes, packaging formats and preparation methods rather than the disappearance of beverage demand.

The next policy dispute concerns whether the deposit system should cover single-use glass, including small alcohol bottles. Maspex Group chief executive Krzysztof Pawiński said retailers had already spent 2 billion złoty on machines for the current system and estimated that adapting them for a separate glass fraction would cost another 2 billion złoty. He argued that producers and retailers need reliable operating data and time to stabilise the existing network before its scope expands. Poland’s first-year results demonstrate collection at scale, but the cost, efficiency and practical coverage of glass remain unresolved for beverage manufacturers and retailers.