Waste Collection Company Makes Fortune on Unreturned Bottles in Hungary

  • 13 Jun 2025 10:31 AM
  • Hungary Around the Clock
Waste Collection Company Makes Fortune on Unreturned Bottles in Hungary
According to its 2024 annual report, MOHU recorded Ft 32.9 billion in income from empty bottles that were never returned for cash, Szabad Europa reports.

MOHU, a waste management subsidiary of energy company MOL, holds the state waste collection concession.

MOHU writes in its annual report on 2024 that "bottles that were not returned are accounted for as other income".

Hungary remains the only country in Europe where the waste management operator receives the deposit fee, not when it collects returned containers, but at the point of sale – effectively securing payment before fulfilling its obligations, regardless of whether the containers are returned.

Under this system, MOHU gets Ft 50 on each unredeemed bottle.

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