From deposit to disposition: behavioural determinants of participation in hungary’s REpont deposit-return system

Abstract Deposit-return systems (DRS) have acquired renewed policy urgency across the European Union following the adoption of the 2024 Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40), which obliges all member states to achieve a 90% separate collection rate for single-use beverage containers by 2029. Hungary’s REpont scheme, operational from January 2024 and administered by MOHU (MOL Hulladékgazdálkodási Zrt.) through more than 4,700 collection points nationwide, represents one of the youngest and most centralised DRS architectures in the European Union. The behavioural determinants of consumer participation in early-stage systems of this kind remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the interaction between financial incentives, multi-component psychological attitudes, institutional trust in a commercially operated concession holder, and culturally embedded recycling norms. This study employs a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design that combines a large-scale nationally post-stratification-weighted survey ( n = 2,665) analysed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 22 semi-structured stakeholder interviews covering consumers, retail employees, and system operators. An Extended Behavioural Circular Economy (EBCE) model is proposed and empirically tested, indicating a sequential affective-to-cognitive-to-conative-to-use predictive chain (β = 0.633, 0.799, 0.268; all p < 0.001). Institutional trust significantly moderates the cognitive-to-use relationship (βinteraction = 0.183, p < 0.001), and perceived convenience exerts an independent direct effect on system use (β = 0.157, p < 0.001) alongside the conative-to-use path. Qualitative analysis reveals four structural participation barriers: reverse vending machine (RVM) infrastructure friction, social stigma at return points, a culturally embedded bottle-accumulation practice, and operator legitimacy concerns arising from MOHU’s petrochemical parent company. K-means cluster analysis identifies a paradoxical low-participation cohort among highly educated urban residents, consistent with the value-action gap. Post-stratification weighting via iterative proportional fitting aligns the sample with national population benchmarks on gender, age, education, and region, improving demographic alignment with Hungarian population benchmarks. The study contributes a tested five-construct behavioural model and offers evidence-informed policy recommendations for DRS design across transitioning EU economies.