One Year Later: Hungarian Consumer Reactions to the National Deposit-Refund System

Szűcs, Róbert Sándor and Kiss, Marietta and Vizdák, Károly and Földi, Kata (2025) One Year Later: Hungarian Consumer Reactions to the National Deposit-Refund System. ECOCYCLES, 11 (2). pp. 9-26. ISSN 2416-2140

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Abstract

In 2024, Hungary implemented a nationwide Deposit-Refund System (DRS) for single-use beverage containers to promote recycling and reduce environmental waste. This study provides a follow-up assessment of consumer reactions one year after the system’s launch, highlighting the evolution of public attitudes and behavioural adaptation over time. Based on an online survey conducted in early 2025 with 1,475 respondents, our analysis reveals a notable shift from initial scepticism to broader acceptance of the DRS. While early concerns focused on inconvenience, subsequent user experience has led to more favourable perceptions, with over half of respondents now supporting the initiative. Importantly, our study identifies persistent operational challenges – such as machine reliability and limited return infrastructure – that continue to undermine user satisfaction. This research offers novel insights into the temporal dynamics of consumer acceptance in environmental policy adoption by comparing current attitudes with pre-implementation expectations. The findings contribute to the growing literature on circular economy tools by underscoring the need for continuous system refinement and targeted communication to sustain public engagement with deposit-refund schemes.

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