At the European Deposit Return Systems Association (EDRSA) Conference 2026, Clarissa Morawski, Founder and CEO of Reloop Platform, shared her perspective on the rapid expansion of Deposit Return Systems (DRS) and the next steps toward a truly circular economy.

↗️ Morawski noted that the number of countries operating DRS has more than doubled over the past decade, with many new systems achieving their collection targets ahead of schedule. She also highlighted their immediate environmental impact, with beverage container litter falling by 50% to 80% shortly after implementation. These results, she said, demonstrate why DRS has become one of the world's most effective circular economy tools.

Looking ahead, Morawski argued that success should no longer be measured only by collection rates. The real objective is to recover more than 90–95% of beverage containers and keep materials in a closed loop, ensuring that bottles become new bottles and cans become new cans, rather than being downcycled into lower-value products.

She also stressed that as more countries introduce DRS, cooperation between system operators and the exchange of practical knowledge will be essential to building high-performing systems worldwide.