Pawn slip in the supermarket: millions of millions that burden the environment and customers!

Pawn slip in the supermarket: millions of millions that burden the environment and customers!

In the German Pfandystem, there are serious problems that primarily affect blind and visually impaired people. According to Iris Gassenbauer from the blind and visual impaired association, the new pawn return stations are often only to be operated via touchscreens. This technology is almost unusable for people with visual restrictions because they cannot perceive visual stimuli. Gassenbauer said that although supermarket chains such as Spar and Rewe offer help with trained staff, this is not sufficient: "It is simply not a self -determined action," says Gassenbauer. The lack of labeling for blind people is particularly questionable, since it is often not even recognizable that it is a pawn handle.

deposit slip as an unsolved problem

In addition to the poor accessibility, we still have the phenomenon of the "Pfandschlüf". Every year, millions of euros are lost due to deposit bottles that have not been returned. Ultimately, this money remains at the dealer instead of being returned to consumers. The Federal Ministry of the Environment does not have its own figures, but it is estimated that the deposit slip from 2003 to 2025 was over 3.5 billion euros, such as t-online.de reported. If deposit machines do not work properly, many customers decide to simply throw their bottles into the trash can, which not only harms financially, but also endanger the efficiency of the recycling.

The deposit slip has a direct impact on nutrition and the environment. Too much new material is needed because the bottles cannot land in return. People who do without their deposit bottles for convenience lose money that can accumulate over the years. The current system could therefore not only be improved for blind and visually impaired people, but for all common good.