With the deposit proceeds of 2.5 million euros, 39 jobs were created.

In 2013, the "Donate your deposit" campaign started at Stuttgart Airport and was expanded to eight German airports. In the meantime, ten million bottles have been collected, and the deposit proceeds are donated to charitable causes. Jörg Deppmeyer, Managing Director of Der Grüne Punkt, calls the campaign a double win: "People who no longer have access to the primary labour market are given a perspective and at the same time the environment is protected." The idea came from students at the University of Regensburg: beverage bottles with a deposit, which may not be taken on board, can be thrown into specially marked containers at the security checkpoints. The deposit thus donated is used to set up the new jobs, especially for the long-term unemployed. So far, 39 jobs subject to social security contributions have been created in this way, which are supervised by non-profit organisations. The employees take over the emptying, cleaning and care of the containers, separate the bottles into disposable and reusable and pack them. Der Grüne Punkt (Green Dot) then handles the logistics and returns the collected deposit to the projects.

Sources:

• recyclingportal.eu (9.9.2022)
• Der Grüne Punkt
• Photo: @ Nuremberg Airport