{"id":3324,"date":"2026-08-05T15:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spendedeinpfand.com\/pfandsammlung-veranstaltung\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:16:07","slug":"pfandsammlung-veranstaltung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spendedeinpfand.com\/en\/pfandsammlung-veranstaltung\/","title":{"rendered":"Deposit collection at events: empties at trade fairs and festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of a trade fair day, you can see it at the standing tables. Between brochures and coffee cups stand empty bottles and cans, some half tipped over, and the cleaning staff sweep everything together into one sack. What disappears there are deposit-bearing empties \u2014 and with them an opportunity that many organisers are not even aware of.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At trade fairs, festivals and congresses, empties accumulate in quantities you will not experience anywhere else in everyday life. Drinks are part of the programme: at the exhibitor stand, during the break, in front of the stage. And because visitors are on the move, empties rarely end up where they belong. Anyone who seriously plans deposit collection at events therefore solves two tasks at once \u2014 the grounds stay tidy, and the deposit turns into support for charitable projects.<\/p>\n

This article describes how such a collection is planned: what matters when estimating quantities, where containers are actually used, why servicing is the decisive point and what you should clarify before making your first enquiry.<\/p>\n

Three types of deposit \u2014 and why the distinction matters<\/h2>\n

When people talk about deposits at events, they often mean three different things. For planning purposes, it is worth keeping them apart.<\/p>\n

The statutory single-use deposit<\/strong> in Germany is 25 cents and applies to drinks cans and single-use plastic bottles. Since January 2022 it has applied largely regardless of the contents, and since January 2024 mixed milk drinks have been included as well. This deposit is attached to almost every drink handed out at an event in a can or PET bottle.<\/p>\n

The reusable deposit<\/strong> on glass bottles is eight or fifteen cents, depending on the type of container. It is lower, but in return the bottle itself goes back into circulation.<\/p>\n

The cup deposit<\/strong> at events is something different: a system the organiser sets up itself so that reusable cups come back. It has nothing to do with the statutory deposit, but it follows the same logic \u2014 an amount that motivates people to return things.<\/p>\n

For a collection, this means: at events with cans and single-use bottles, it is about the statutory deposit. Wherever reusable cups are used, you need a container designed for cups, not for bottle necks.<\/p>\n

Why empties work differently at events than at the workplace<\/h2>\n

In an office, everyone knows the way to the collection point. After two weeks it becomes routine. At an event, exactly that is missing: your visitors are there for the first and usually only time, they have other plans, and they make their decision in a second or two \u2014 on the way to the next hall, empty bottle in hand.<\/p>\n

Three things follow from this, and they should be reflected in your planning.<\/p>\n

The container must stand out before anyone looks for it.<\/strong> Anyone who first has to think about where the empties should go will toss them into the nearest waste bin. A collection point you can recognise from twenty metres away gets used; one at knee height behind a pillar does not.<\/p>\n

The purpose must be visible.<\/strong> To visitors, a container without a recognisable message is just an oddly shaped rubbish bin. If it says what is being collected for, behaviour changes \u2014 people are more likely to hand something over when they can see where it is going.<\/p>\n

Capacity is always underestimated.<\/strong> A container that lasts three weeks in an office is full within a few hours at a well-attended trade fair. This is the point at which most home-made solutions fail.<\/p>\n

How many empties to expect \u2014 a first estimate<\/h2>\n

No one can give you a reliable figure without knowing your event. Three pieces of information, however, take the estimate quite a long way:<\/p>\n