Mattoni's first aluminium can in 150 years comes with a three-crown deposit

While recycling of glass and (more recently) plastic bottles has seen a rise in the Czech Republic in recent years, widespread recycling of aluminium cans has yet to take off in the country.

Famed Czech mineral water Mattoni is hoping to change that, and has now introduced a deposit-return system through online Czech supermarket Košík.cz. The new program follows a similar pilot project for plastic PET bottles.

Through the new program, half-liter cans of Mattoni's lemon-flavored sparkling water can purchased on Košík.cz for 19.90 CZK, and come with an additional 3 CZK deposit. The cans may later be returned through a Košík.cz pickup, with customers refunded the 3 CZK deposit.

The new beverage is the first Mattoni product to be offered in an aluminium can in the company's 150-year history according to Mattoni CEO Alessandro Pasquale.

"Our goal is for significantly more cans to be recycled in the Czech Republic than are now," Pasquale stated in a press release.

"Deposits are an ideal way to increase the recycling rate."

The cans must be returned through a Košík.cz courier undamaged, so that they may be easily identified in order to be eligible for the 3 CZK refund.

Critics claim that trucks carrying empty cans will contribute more towards air pollution than the recycling process will save.

"It looks uncomfortable, illogical, and uneconomical, but the opposite is true," Košík.cz head Tomáš Jeřábek stated.

According to Jeřábek, while the COVID-19 pandemic added some extra hindrances, the PET bottle recycling project launched on Košík.cz earlier this year was a success, with more than 70% of customers in favor of it.

While Slovakia will introduce a mandatory deposit-return system for both plastic bottles and aluminium cans from 2022, the Czech Republic has yet to take those steps, leaving it up to consumers and corporations to take the initiative to recycle.

Last month, the Czech Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament, rejected a plan that would introduce a mandatory deposit for plastic bottles from 2025. The bill will be next discussed by the Czech Senate before proceeding further in the legislative process.