Lidl is one of the first retail chains in BG to introduce a pilot project for machines for the return of plastic bottles and beverage cans. The facilities are located in a total of 20 Lidl stores in 14 cities. Thus, Lidl customers in these cities can easily and quickly return their used beverage packaging to the place where they shop every day, while at the same time contribute to the protection of the environment. Customers also receive an e-voucher worth 5 cents for each returned package. The collected PET bottles are recycled in the country, and the obtained material is already used for the production of new bottles by a Bulgarian manufacturer. In this way, the use of plastic is reduced, resources are saved and the life cycle of raw materials is closed.

Direct and indirect beneficiaries of the pilot project are employees, customers, business partners, and local communities. Lidl Bulgaria reaches out to all interested parties through the implementation of various measures and 360 campaigns.

The launch of the pilot project is a test of how a real deposit system would work. The introduction of the machines is part of the Schwarz group's long-term plastic strategy REset Plastic, which sustainable goals are based on the principle "Less plastic - closed cycle of raw materials".

Activities 2023: • Lidl Bulgaria's pilot project started at the end of March and for the first two months, the amount collected exceeded 1,100,000 bottles and cans. • To announce its pilot Lidl organized a media event with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Reneta Koleva, Irene Plank, Ambassador of Germany and over 40 media guests • Distribution of regular press releases with results for the number of collected cans and bottles • A second media event was organized in December – the expansion of the pilot project was announced, adding 10 new stores and 5 new cities • A partnership with the "Caps for the Future" foundation was announced, with special containers for collecting caps placed in all stores • 9 press releases were distributed, with over 200 publications • The news is among the most read business news in Capital for 2023 - https://shorturl.at/osITY • A special video https://shorturl.at/aHQV8 has been made that follows the bottle's journey from the store, through the vending machine, to the recycling plant, until it becomes a new bottle with 30% recycled material and back on the shelf at Lidl - above 270,000 views

Consumer interest continues to grow and thanks to their active role, over 13 million cans and plastic bottles have been collected to date. People's interest in recycling is equally strong in large and smaller cities, with some towns in the last 2 weeks collecting machines reaching levels of over 5,000 packs per day on average. The undisputed champion is the vending machine in the city of Dobrich, which returns between 7,000 and 8,500 bottles/cans per day. By comparison, around 6,000 packages a day are collected by the busiest machines in countries where deposit system has been operating for years.