Regulatory & Policy August 25, 2026
This site previously described Greece as having limited deposit-system development, with the operator and the deposit both "to be confirmed". That understated it. Enough is published now to start work on artwork.
What is settled. DRS Hellas S.A. was incorporated on October 7, 2025 as the sole Collective Alternative Management System for the Greek scheme, founded by soft drinks, juice, beer and bottled water producers together with retail through the Hellenic Supermarket Union. Scope is plastic bottles and metal beverage containers up to 3 litres, which matches the PPWR Article 50 scope. In-scope containers will need three markings: the DRS logo, a barcode, and the deposit value.
The deposit is two tier, and this is the detail to get right. It is 0.10 euro for containers up to 0.5 litres and 0.15 euro for containers between 0.5 and 3 litres. Anyone quoting a single figure, or the range without the 0.5 litre boundary, will price it wrong.
One Greek specific worth knowing. The refund is a voucher spendable in participating stores, and it cannot be exchanged for money. Most European deposit schemes refund cash. If you are modelling return rates or consumer response in Greece, that is a real difference.
What is NOT settled: the date. DRS Hellas is still pending licensing by the Hellenic Recycling Agency (EOAN), the system is in phased activation with tenders open, and no go-live date has been published. The operator targets up to 90 percent collection by 2029, which lines up with the Article 50(1) duty on Greece. So: build the artwork requirement into your plans now, but do not let anyone sell you a launch date, because there is not one yet.
Source: DRS Hellas S.A., drshellas.gr, company and scheme pages read August 25, 2026. [LOCKED] on the operator, scope and deposit tiers; the EOAN licensing decision itself was not read, as eoan.gr could not be reached this session.
This entry is part of the PPWR Atlas update log. The Atlas is re-checked against the Official Journal, Commission guidance, and each national PRO's published schedule, and everything that changes gets logged with its source. See the week of August 24, 2026 or the full update archive.