Spain prepares deposit-return system for plastic bottles, cans and drink cartons

Deposit required after collection target is missed

Spain is preparing to introduce a deposit, return and refund system for beverage packaging after failing to meet its statutory collection target for plastic bottles. According to Renovables Verdes, the system, known in Spain as SDDR, will require consumers to pay a refundable deposit when buying drinks in covered containers and recover it after returning the empty packaging.

The measure follows Spain’s performance in 2023, when 41.3% of plastic bottles were collected separately, compared with the required 70%. The longer-term objective is a 90% separate collection rate by 2029. The gap creates a large operational challenge for beverage producers, retailers, waste managers and recyclers, which will need to connect packaging identification, collection and settlement systems.

Plastic bottles, cans and cartons covered

The mandatory system will include single-use plastic bottles with a capacity of up to three litres, metal beverage cans and drink cartons. European rules require the inclusion of bottles and cans, while Spain has also brought beverage cartons into scope under Royal Decree 1055/2022.

The minimum deposit will be €0.10 per container, although the amount may differ by packaging format. It must appear separately on the customer’s receipt. A purchase containing six milk cartons, four soft-drink cans and two water bottles would therefore show 12 containers and a total deposit of €1.20. The amount is refundable and is not a tax or a permanent increase in the product price.

Packaging must remain uncrushed and its label must be readable so that a machine or store employee can verify it. That requirement will affect packaging design, barcode management and household storage. It may also alter the volume and condition of material reaching existing recycling streams.

Retailers will handle automated and manual returns

Supermarkets and large stores are expected to install reverse-vending machines that identify packaging by barcode and issue either a refund voucher or a discount for use in the store. Small retailers, bars and restaurants will handle returns manually, refunding the deposit in cash or to an account.

Consumers will not need to return a container to the shop where it was purchased. A retailer selling that type of packaging will have to accept it, and repayment cannot be conditional on another purchase. For retailers, this means allocating floor space, training staff and managing returned material. Producers and system operators will also need reliable data and financial reconciliation across a nationwide network.

November 2026 deadline faces approval delays

The European packaging and packaging-waste regulation began applying on 12 August 2026, but Spain’s deposit system did not start automatically on that date. Spanish law allowed two years from confirmation that the 2023 collection target had been missed. That failure was confirmed in November 2024, placing the implementation deadline on 22 November 2026.

However, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition has not yet approved the system operators, while the Community of Madrid has not authorised the four candidate entities headquartered there. Renovables Verdes reports that industry and administrative sources consider a delay until 2029 likely, the maximum deadline set by Brussels for member states to have deposit systems. Luis Medina-Montoya, business development director at RVM Systems España, described the November 2026 date as materially impossible to meet.

The timetable uncertainty complicates investment decisions for beverage companies, retailers and recyclers. Equipment procurement, packaging registration, logistics contracts and consumer communication all depend on approved operators and final technical rules. Separate European measures will also allow customers to bring their own containers without a surcharge from 2027 and prohibit certain single-use hospitality packaging from 2030.