Sweden's deposit return system passes three billion containers for first time. More than three billion PET bottles and aluminium cans were returned through Sweden's deposit return system in 2025, according to Returpack/Pantamera. The return rate rose to 88.4 per cent, approaching the 90 per cent national target, with each person returning an average of 283 containers.
The system delivered 27,826 metric tonnes of aluminium and 24,835 metric tonnes of PET to material buyers in 2025. Sara Bergendorff, head of sustainability and quality at Returpack/Pantamera, said returning containers through the deposit system rather than general packaging recycling cuts the carbon footprint of the materials in half, keeping them in closed loops that preserve quality for reuse as new packaging.
High-capacity reverse vending machines, which allow entire bags of containers to be emptied at once, now account for 14 per cent of all machines but handle 45 per cent of total volume. Launched in 1984 as the world's first deposit return system, Sweden has collected more than 55 billion bottles and cans to date.
