Шампанско за смет? Champagne for Trash?
Sometimes humor could be the only thing getting us through the dark stuff...
For English, please, scroll down!
Днес ще се опитам да отговоря на въпроса, може ли да се купи бутилка българско шампанско с рециклиране?
Преди няколко дни за първи път застанах пред машина за рециклиране на Lidl (първите такива в България) и се почувствах като герой в мини мисия: "Върни бутилките и спаси планетата… или поне вземи някое Евро за шампанско, че то има нужда да се отпразнува нещо, което се случва сега, а в белите западни страни го има сигурно от 20-30 години." Пуснах опаковките една по една, машината ги глътна с ентусиазъм, а аз стоях отстрани като горд еко-герой.
Накрая получих два ековаучера — 1 евро и 0,96 евро. Това означаваше, че съм върнал 98 опаковки. Деветдесет и осем! Почувствах се като човек, който е изчистил половината океан… докато не видях, че изкупната цена е 2 евроцента на брой. Два. Цели. Цента. В този момент ентусиазмът ми леко се спъна, падна, стана, отупа се и продължи, но вече с по‑малко самочувствие. Миналата година, 2025-та, когато машините бяха пуснати, изкупната цена беше 5 стотинки, което е с четвърт повече. Е, ще преглътна и това, с глътка шампанско, надявам се!
Сравнение с бяла западна страна мога да направя само за Австрия, където реално ползвах такава машина в мол в Залцбург. Естествено, там депозитната система е друга вселена. Долкото успях да проверя, всяка PET бутилка и кен носят в момента 25 евроцента депозит. Това е повече от десет пъти над нашите 2 цента. В Австрия, ако върнеш 98 опаковки, можеш да си купиш хубав обяд. В България — 2 кенчета бира. И то от местните, а може би това е и целта. "Няма ли градус, няма радост", както изпя един приятел певец преди време.
Какво ми харесва в българските машини
- Работят бързо — почти като да играеш на автомат, само че вместо плюшено мече печелиш ваучер.
- Процесът е толкова лесен, че дори човек, който още се чуди що е то БГ-рециклиране, ще се справи.
- Създават навик — започваш да пазиш бутилките като ценни артефакти и да задобряваш в логистиката, че то с тия чували само Дядо Коледа може ми да е коуч.
- И най‑важното: усеща се, че правим крачка в правилата посока.
Къде изоставаме спрямо Австрия:
- 2 евроцента е по‑скоро „благодаря“, отколкото стимул.
- Не всички опаковки се приемат — понякога се чувстваш като на кастинг. "С капачките напред", както ме посъветва мъж, който ползваше съседната машина.
- В цяла България има само 9 такива машини. Само в Лидл. (Браво, за което! Надявам се скоро и в още магазини, във всеки град!)
- Не винаги работят. Първият път, когато отидох, специалната стаичка за рециклиране беше затворена, и то в работното време на магазина.
Присъдата:
Да, системата ни е млада. Да, депозитът е символичен. Но честно казано, харесва ми, че най‑после имаме такива машини. Харесва ми, че хората се редят, че предават бутилки и кенчета, че се шегуват с ваучерите. Това е началото на култура, която тепърва ще расте. Както ми каза същият този мъж до мен, в стаичката за рециклиране, вижда се, че е по-чисто в радиус от няколко километра около магазина...
А аз? Аз ще продължа да връщам опаковки. Дори и само заради удоволствието да гледам как машината ги "лапа" с апетит, а аз излизам с ваучер и усещането, че съм направил нещо добро — макар и за 2 цента.
И сега, отговорът на въпроса. "НЕ". За съжаление, не мога да купя бутилка шампанско с тези 1.96 евро. Най-евтиното, местно производство, което успях да намеря, струва 3.32 евро ( https://www.earda.bg/produkt/%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D1%8F%D0%BB%D0%B0-0-700/)
Защо не върнах повече? Тези 98 "бройки" бяха заели целия ми багажник на колата, а ремарке нямам. Два курса скоро няма да правя, че с тези цени на дизела в момента, заради ситуациятя около Иран, ще платя (и съответно замърся) много повече... Ех, живот... Ще преглъщам "на сухо"...
Today I will try to answer the question, is it possible to buy a bottle of Bulgarian champagne with recycling?
A few days ago, for the first time, I stood in front of a Lidl recycling machine (the first of its kind in Bulgaria) and felt like a hero on a mini mission: "Return the bottles and save the planet... or at least get a few EUR for champagne, because this act needs to be celebrated, something that is happening now, and in the Western EU countries it has probably been there for 20-30 years." I put the stuff in one by one, the machine swallowed them with enthusiasm, and I felt like a proud eco-hero.
In the end, I received two eco-vouchers - 1 euro and 0.96 euro. This meant that I had returned 98 packages. Ninety-eight! I felt like a person who had cleaned half the ocean... until I saw that the purchase price was 2 euro cents each. Two. Whole. Cent. At that moment, my enthusiasm stumbled a little, fell, got up, dulled and continued, but with less self-confidence. Last year, 2025, when the machines were launched, the purchase price was 5 stotinki, which is a quarter more. Well, I'll swallow that too, with a sip of champagne, I hope!
I can only make a comparison with a "normal" western country for Austria, where I actually used such a machine in a mall in Salzburg. Of course, the deposit system there is a different universe. As far as I was able to check, each PET bottle and can currently "pays" a 25 eurocent deposit. This is more than ten times our 2 cents. In Austria, if you return 98 packages, you can buy a nice lunch. In Bulgaria — 2 cans of beer. And from the locals, and maybe that's the goal. "No alcohol, no joy", as a singer friend sang some time ago.
What I like about Bulgarian machines
- They work quickly — almost like playing a slot machine, only instead of a teddy bear you win a voucher.
- The process is so easy that even a person who is still wondering what BG-recycling is, will cope.
- They create a habit — you start to keep the bottles and the cans as valuable artifacts and get better at logistics, because with these bags only Santa Claus can be my coach.
- And most importantly: it feels like we are taking a step in the right direction.
Where we lag behind Austria:
- 2 euro cents is more of a "thank you" than an incentive.
- Not all packaging is accepted — sometimes you feel like you are in a casting. "With the caps first," as a man who used the neighboring machine advised me.
- There are only 9 such machines in all of Bulgaria. Only in Lidl. (Well done! I hope more stores will have them soon, in every city!)
- They don't always work. The first time I went, the special recycling room was closed, and that was during the store's opening hours.
The verdict:
Yes, our system is young. Yes, the deposit is symbolic. But honestly, I like that we finally have such machines. I like that people are lining up, handing in bottles and cans, joking about the vouchers. This is the beginning of a culture that is still growing. As the same man next to me, in the recycling room, told me, it is clearly cleaner within a radius of several kilometers around the store...
And me? I will continue to return packaging. If only for the pleasure of watching the machine "devour" them with appetite, and I leave with a voucher and the feeling that I have done something good — even if for 2 cents.
And now, the answer to the question. "NO". Unfortunately, I can't buy a bottle of champagne with these 1.96 euros. The cheapest, locally produced one I could find costs 3.32 euros ( https://www.earda.bg/produkt/%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D1%8F%D0%BB%D0%B0-0-700/)
Why didn't I return more? These 98 "pieces" took up the entire trunk of my car, and I don't have a trailer. I won't be doing two courses soon, because with these diesel prices at the moment, due to the situation around Iran, I will pay (and consequently pollute) much more... Oh well... I'll swallow it "dry"...
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Let me assure you: we also have fun with broken machines (or kilometre-long queues in front of them) in Germany. Yes, the deposit here is also 25 pence. But you paid that in advance on top of the regular purchase price. When you return the deposit, you just get it back. In that respect, I personally wouldn't care whether it was 2 or 25 pence. The amount was probably set based on the pain threshold of the average German: up to what amount is the deposit irrelevant and the empties are still thrown away instead of making the effort... The fact that people today (have to) make a living from collecting bottles was certainly not taken into account.
Incidentally, the cheapest champagne I could find here costs €21... That would be covered by your load of bottles ;-)) Of course, I have no idea what it tastes like...
0.00 SBD,
0.23 STEEM,
0.23 SP
I see your point :) Still, well, given the prices for the same products are usually much bigger here, I suppose we also pay for the deposit anyway, but there isn't such a "custom" to return it. We aren't there yet :)
Many people aren't happy here, because it is really easy to compare the prices for the same products (especially in Lidl, here about the half of the stuff is made in Germany). Dairy products are +30% - +100% sometimes. Probably not the best comparison but the main voices say - "see, in the normal countries 0.25, here - 0.02 EUR".
Some say - Bulgaria is a small market, not fair to compare to bigger ones, and costs of transport must be added on top (no tax or extra VAT as we're all in the EEA). Then, however, I compare with our neighbor, Greece, similar market in size, and the prices in their Lidl are again, much better than ours. Quality of the Greek products... unfortunately it is always better that ours :( From time to time we go to a city in Greece that's about 120 km from our house and even with the high gas prices it's still cheaper to load groceries for two weeks...
Probably I should've called the product from my link a "sparkling wine", champagne is probably a trade mark? With such a price I bet they don't pay royalties :)))
I am sure drinking up a bottle of this one would guarantee headaches on the next morning! :P :D
Thank you and... cheers! :)
0.00 SBD,
31.31 STEEM,
31.31 SP
Yes, champagne is always made from specific grapes in a specific growing region in France. The one I mentioned to you, for €21, is a cheap offer at ALDI. Really good champagne costs €75 upwards on average. And it doesn't cause headaches at all! Still, it's not ‘my’ drink, if I have a choice...
🍀❤️
@wakeupkitty
With us it depends how much you receive back on a bottle but ..you only receive back what you paid for. So you pay for the drink + the price of the bottle (glass or plastic or can).
During my childhood the milkman delivered at home in glass bottles but I doubt we paid for those bottles. We simply have them back (cleaned) as he delivered the new order.
We did receive a refund for the glass bottles (just milk, yoghurt, custard, buttermilk and beer nothing else) about 30-35 years ago. No machines but a human collected them.
If you ask me this problem counts for most countries. Back then as the EU started they told us every product within the EU will cost everywhere the same.
No way. Shopping in Germany is at least 30% cheaper, same for Italy and if it comes to Lidl it's by far not the cheapest supermarket.
Even Malta is cheaper although this is an island which beats me. Also we deal with empty shelves and fewer products unlike Malta, how come?
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.