An estimated 1,500 stores are obliged to install reverse vending machines for the return of glass, plastic bottles, and metal cans, Világgazdaság writes. This means the installation of thousands of machines.

Shops larger than 400m2 had to register with Mohu, a subsidiary of the MOL waste management system, as the energy company was awarded the nationwide waste management concession.

The deadline was January 31, and for voluntary participants, March 31, but Mohu is still accepting new registrations.

Under the new scheme, consumers are expected to receive coupons for returned bottles, which can be converted to cash or transferred to bank accounts using a barcode scanner on the machines, said president Katalin Neubauer of the national trade Association MNKSZ.