Boosting circularity in Europe: Lessons and leadership from DRS
June 2, 2025.- in the context of the 2025 EU Green Week, Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE) organised a partner event titled “Deposit Return Systems: Delivering on Circularity Post-PPWR” in collaboration with the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU. The Lithuanian Deposit Return Systems (DRS) is a well-known success story. Since 2016, the country’s performance for the collection of PET and aluminium beverage packaging has transformed from underperforming to one of Europe’s top performers—all within just two years.
The event brought together EU policymakers, national authorities, industry representatives and civil society to discuss the central role that DRS can play in achieving the objectives of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), and more broadly, material efficiency.
The opening address by Ms Jurga Kasputienė, Ambassador-at-Large and Deputy Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the EU, set the tone: “Lithuania’s deposit return system has been a success story since 2016. Each Member State has its own specificities, but sharing practical experience helps everyone develop more effective systems”.
NMWE President, Alessandro Pasquale, emphasised the transformational role of DRS in building a sustainable circular economy. “We can cut our emissions by 80%, eliminate littering, and preserve significant new resources for the future,” he said. “The best way to achieve efficient circularity is through the implementation of well-designed deposit return systems”.
In her overview of Europe’s DRS landscape, Clarissa Morawski, CEO of Reloop, emphasised the importance of DRS for closed-loop recycling, highlighting it as the best tool to maximise material efficiency. She noted that DRS countries achieve a 90% collection for recycling rate and experience a dramatic decrease in per capita packaging waste. Concluding her remarks, she emphasised that European Member States are leading the way when it comes to this system, with more EU countries expected to adopt DRS in the coming years.
Greta Česnaitytė, Chief Advisor at the Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, emphasised system’s ability to increase collection rates, deliver high-quality recycled content and inspire other countries. Ms. Česnaitytė also stressed the importance of informing consumers about the reasons why DRS are set up to engage them and obtain good return rates.
Dr Wolfgang Trunk, European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment (Team Leader, Unit B3), highlighted that DRS are crucial in reducing packaging waste generation, which is the objective of the PPWR. Dr. Trunk emphasized that, although Member States may be exempted from the obligation to set up a DRS if in 2026 they achieve a 80% separate collection rate by weight of single-use plastic and metal beverage bottles the burden of proof is significant. The Commission is confident that the majority of Member States will implement a DRS to meet PPWR waste reduction targets. Dr Trunk also advocated in favour of greater integration between single-use and reusable packaging systems to maximise waste reduction concluding that it would be a missed opportunity if Member States do not consider integrating the reuse option when designing new DRS.
Raymond Gianotten, consultant at OLHC, rounded off the panel discussion by sharing insights on tailoring system design to local contexts. With more than twenty years in the beverage sector and a strong expertise in DRS and EPRs, Raymond strongly advised allowing at least 24 months for implementation of a DRS. He then continued by explaining that “no two DRSs are alike but successful models all rely on nine principles, among others industry control, national coverage, clear legislative frameworks and material access.” Lastly, Raymond warned against government-run systems and recommended that in the case of decentralised systems, those remain not-for-profit and are coordinated by an umbrella organisation.
NMWE Secretary General, Patricia Fosselard, concluded the session by calling for collaboration and knowledge sharing. “DRS are widely acknowledged as one of the most effective tools to boost resource efficiency and achieve high-quality recycling. The question now is how to make them work in every national context. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there is a growing pool of best practices to draw on. So far, Europe has only seen success stories.”
NMWE would like to extend its sincere thanks to all participants, speakers, the moderator and our partners at the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU. We look forward to continuing the conversation, engaging with all relevant parties, and supporting the implementation of effective and efficient deposit return systems across Europe.