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The deposit system has become one of the leading topics in Poland. There is not a day that goes by without being touched upon by old and new media. There’s also a lot going on in these social media when the topic comes up. So far, commentators most often complain about this solution. For various reasons, the program still suffers from childhood illnesses.

Some people do not like the fact of collecting waste at home, others are bothered by the queues for bottle dispensers, and still others complain when the machines turn out to be overflowing. Or broken. The above-mentioned app tries to solve the problems, at least partially.

There is a bag of bottles and cans with the deposit system symbol on them in your apartment, garage or balcony, and you don’t know where to go to get your money back? Then you might want to consider installing it free Botelkomat application: Deposit and Returns. This is a map showing the locations of packaging return points in Poland. Thousands of points.

Where does the data come from? From the official websites of chain stores that are legally obliged to accept deposited packaging. But also from entities that participate in the system voluntarily, a good example of which is the Żabka facility. In theory, the user should not be shown a location that is not included in the program.

The matter does not end with indicating the location, the app can navigate the user to that location. It will also provide information about the indicated point. In addition, there is a rating system, which after some time (and with a large number of users) may turn out to be a useful source of information: this bottle dispenser is ok, it is better to avoid this one because, for example, it is often under repair. And this one is almost always full.

The question will be: what problem does this tool solve? The creators explain it in a few words: bouncing from broken or overflowing bottle dispensers.

Someone will say that a broken or clogged machine in a store is not a problem because the latter he must accept the packaging anyway. Is this really how it works? For the answer, I go to the website of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. And there I read that:

In any store with an area of ​​more than 200 m² that sells packaging covered by the general deposit system, you can return any packaging with the deposit symbol. Regardless of whether the store has them in its assortment and whether the bottle dispenser is working.

What to do when the machine is not working? Please inform the store staff about this and ask them to accept the packages and settle the deposit manually. And if so, a doubt arises: do I really need an application with a map of bottle dispensers?

I asked the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection whether stores make life difficult for customers and they refuse to accept bottles. I learned, among other things, that… this institution has little to do with the system. He is responsible for the correct application of the provisions relating to him Environmental Protection Inspection. It is worth directing questions or complaints to her.

This does not mean, however, that the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection does not receive signals regarding the functioning of the described mechanism. It turns out that the Office registered over 200 of them.

Consumers mainly point to problems with the proper operation of bottle machines and refusal to accept packaging for products purchased from other entrepreneurs. There are also signs about receiving shopping vouchers for returning bottles. The Office forwards all signals in accordance with its jurisdiction to the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Climate and Environment

I asked its creator about the validity of developing the application in a situation where stores (indicated in the Act) must accept packaging. And he pointed out the difference between theory and practice. Because sometimes there is a lack of service in the store, which makes the entire process longer. It also happens that employees are untrained and do not know how to process a refund. This, in my interlocutor’s opinion, is another wasted minute. And when one customer arranges a return with the cashier, the rest of the queue participants start to get impatient. In extreme cases, the cashier does not want to accept the packages. The consumer can then complain, but will not force the store staff to collect bottles or cans at a given moment.

Descriptions of such situations can be found in comments in our application, on our fanpage or on the Internet in general. We also often receive such complaints by e-mail. The ratings of specific bottle dispensers given by users are also proof of this. Our application saves your nerves and time, and time is money

The software author points out one more issue: If the app wasn’t needed, people wouldn’t install it. Meanwhile, the app is becoming more and more popular, as indicated by data from Google Play. Since we are talking about the market, it is worth noting that for now The Botelkomat: Deposit and Returns application is available only for the Android platform. What about iOS?

The creator makes it clear: there is demand for an iPhone app, but it is difficult to say when it may appear. The priority now is to create a websitebecause many people ask about it. The already available application should have new functions. Michał Figiel pointed out, among others: the ability to save “favorite stores”, set a default city, a button to quickly report an overflowing bottle dispenser or a hint how far the nearest working vending machine is if there is none in the immediate vicinity. The development of the database will also be important. Currently, there are 20,000 in the system. stores, over half of which are confirmed and verified locations of bottle dispensers.

Finally, an important question: who is behind all this? The already mentioned Michał Figiel is a programmer who has been devoting his free time to the Botelkomat: Kaucja I Zwroty application for several months. He is accompanied by his wife, a software tester by profession. I asked the creator what benefits they want to gain from this project and whether they plan to monetize it. In response, I heard that it was primarily about the desire for my own development:

In the IT industry, continuous improvement of your skills and gaining practical experience in working with the latest technologies are absolutely essential. This project was created with this in mind – as an ideal space to prove ourselves in practice, test demanding technological solutions and build something valuable that will enrich our portfolio.

Of course, we do not rule out that some business opportunities will emerge over time, but at the moment our main driving force is simply gaining valuable experience and passion for creating.