Germany's complex system of deposits on drink cans and bottles became more customer-friendly under changes introduced Oct. but the country's retailers complained that the new rules led to "pure chaos."
Under a law adopted at the start of the year, Germans have to pay a deposit starting at $.29 on cans and plastic bottles for beer, mineral water and soft drinks.
But until now there has been no nationwide scheme to return the packaging - meaning that, to reclaim the deposit, customers have had to return their cans to the shop where they bought them, armed with a receipt.
The new rules that came into force Wednesday require all retailers to take back all cans and bottles.
"On the whole, it's going well," said Juergen Riesch, the head of the private German environment Organization, which said its test shoppers encountered few problems reclaiming their deposit.
But he conceded that there were still problems at small shops - on top of which, several large retail chains are either running their own schemes or have stopped selling, or accepting returns of, drinks in receptacles that carry the deposits.
The German Retail Federation complained that "pure chaos rules."
"It is absolutely not the case that you can give back cans and bottles to every retail outlet," spokesman Hubertus Pellengahr said, citing widespread confusion among retailers and a profusion of rival recycling systems.
The government extended deposits already levied on many large glass bottles after failing to meet recycling targets set down by law. Associated Press