Do I get the 50-forint bottle deposit back in Hungary?
Yes — if it carries the logo and you didn't flatten it. In the MOHU system, drink packaging marked with the deposit-return logo — PET bottles, metal cans and single-use glass — carries a 50-forint deposit paid at purchase and refunded when you feed the packaging into a REpont machine or hand it over at a manual return point in smaller shops. Machines only accept intact, recognisable packaging: crushed bottles with unreadable barcodes stay rubbish. Outside the system: milk and milk-based drink packaging (hygiene grounds), unlabelled or pre-system stock, and foreign containers. Your refund comes as a shop voucher, REpont app credit or bank transfer — that pile of bottles in the kitchen is cash now.
📋 The key rules
- 50 HUF deposit on logo-marked PET bottles, cans and single-use glass
- Return at REpont machines or manual return points in small shops
- Machines accept only intact, uncrushed packaging with readable barcodes
- Milk/milk-based drink packaging is not returnable
- Payout: shop voucher, REpont app credit or bank transfer
🔓 Exceptions
- Classic refillable beer bottles return the old way at shop counters
- Unlabelled, pre-system or foreign packaging earns no 50 forints
- Milk and milk-based drink packaging is excluded on hygiene grounds — it belongs in selective waste
⚠️ Penalties
No sanction threatens consumers: the system does not punish, it simply does not pay. The real loss is quiet — every logo-marked bottle you drop in the bin abandons the 50 forints you already paid at the till, and a flattened bottle with an unreadable barcode gets rejected by the machine anyway, so the wrong reflex punishes itself. Anyone gaming the system in bulk (feeding in unauthorised foreign packaging that never carried a Hungarian deposit) meets MOHU and the authorities: the machine refuses, and repeated abuse can trigger proceedings.
📎 Official sources
- REpont (MOHU) · Consumer returns — official rules (HU) →
- Telex · How the new return system works (HU) →
- BAON · Drop it in, it beeps, it pays — how returns work (HU) →
❓ Frequently asked questions
Why won't the machine take my bottle?
Most often because it is crushed, the barcode is damaged, or the return logo is missing. Only intact, recognisable, system-registered packaging passes — a flattened bottle stays rubbish.
Why is the milk carton rejected?
On hygiene grounds, bottles and cartons that held milk or milk-based drinks sit outside the system. You never paid a deposit on them at purchase, so there is nothing to refund: they go to selective waste.
How do I get the money?
Your choice: an instantly spendable shop voucher, credit in the REpont app, or a bank transfer. Manual return points typically hand out vouchers, while machines offer all three routes.
Do refillable beer bottles go to REpont too?
No — classic refillable deposit bottles return the traditional way at the shop counter. REpont is built for single-use, logo-marked packaging: PET bottles, metal cans and single-use glass.
How much is a bottle worth, and when did I pay it?
Fifty forints per piece of packaging, whether bottle, can or glass. You paid it at purchase inside the price, so returning it is not a reward — it is taking your own money back.
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