A deposit-refund system (DRS), also known as deposit-return system, advance deposit fee or deposit-return scheme, is a surcharge on a product when purchased and a rebate when it is returned. A well-known example is when container deposit legislation mandates that a refund is given when reusable packaging is returned. A DRS is a market-based instrument to address externalities, similar to a pigovian tax, with the key difference that a DRS refunds the fee after the product is returned.[1] This provides an incentive to consumers to properly dispose of a product.
While most commonly used with beverage containers, DRS can be used on other materials including liquid and gaseous wastes.[2] A DRS is used on products such as batteries, tyres, automotive oil, consumer electronics and shipping pallets.
There are three potential advantages of a DRS: it reduces illegal dumping by giving a financial incentive, it makes monitoring and enforcement easier, and evading the costs is difficult.[1]
DRS is said to be based on the principles of Extended Producer Responsibility.[3]
DRS can be either voluntary or mandated by legislation.
- ^ a b Walls, Margaret (November 2011). "Deposit-Refund Systems in Practice and Theory" (PDF). RFF DP 11-47. Resources for the Future. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Fullerton, Don; Wolverton, Ann (2000). "Two Generalizations of a Deposit-Refund System" (PDF). American Economic Review. 90 (2): 238–242. doi:10.1257/aer.90.2.238.
- ^ Gupt, Yamini; Sahay, Samraj (2015-06-01). "Managing Used Lead Acid Batteries in India: Evaluation of EPR-DRS Approaches". Journal of Health and Pollution. 5 (8): 52–63. doi:10.5696/i2156-9614-5-8.52. ISSN 2156-9614. PMC 6221476.