Useful Information

The bottle turns a few times to the left, then to the right, and is finally transported inside on the RVM’s conveyor belt – and in those RVMs with the latest technology, the bottles do not even need to be rotated! For most people this is an everyday situation when they return their deposit. The DPG logo and the barcode with the corresponding number on the label pave the way for the packaging to enter the RVM. A compartment opens, the bottle is swallowed and finally you can hear a crunch. Once scanned and registered, the bottle is crumpled up for easier transport and has entered a phase in the recycling system. But what does the mysterious number under the barcode on the label mean?

The Global Trade Item Number, or GTIN, is a sequence of numbers used to identify products in an unmistakable and internationally standardized way. To ensure uniqueness worldwide, the GTINs follow the GS1 standards. The GS1 standards, also known as Global Standards One, create a global language that is understood across industry and national borders.
The GTIN is used to assign information to individual products, such as their country of origin, material, weight, color or production margins. A brand owner, manufacturer or importer applies for a GTIN – consumers encounter the GTIN in their day to day lives when scanning products at the checkout or when returning a deposit item at the RVM.

To a certain extent, the GTIN actually does work wonders. With the naked eye, not much information can be deciphered from the GTIN's sequence of digits. Within the system, however, the GTIN is clearly legible and full of information that enables products to be unmistakably identified at every point in the supply chain – whether in their individual packaging on the shelf, the delivery packaging (e.g., delivery boxes), on the large shipping pallet, at the checkout or in the RVM. With a GTIN, the packaging encapsules a steam of data that can provide information about production, manufacturing, purchasing behavior, stock levels and recycling.
Decoding is achieved within the system by retrieving the special combination of digits. A GTIN is made up of the start digits, the assigned product number and the end number. The start digits form the individual and globally unique company prefix and thus assign the respective products to a specific manufacturer or First Distributor.

This is followed by the middle number combination, which is individually assigned to the manufacturer's product. The GTIN is then concluded by the check digit, a final number that is formed from the previous digits and is used in the system to check whether the barcode has been read and decoded correctly.
The DPG system uses GTINs with eight or thirteen digits. They store the basic data of the product for each packaging registered in the German one-way deposit system.
The empty packaging is returned by the consumer after use – usually, as described above, at a RVM. These RVMs and the Sorting Plants can read the GTIN and associate them with data in the system. Items are identified by a combination of DPG Marking, GTIN, weight and shape. A comparison is then made with the DPG's System Database, which stores the reference data of the manufacturer or importer and can assign the relevant data record to an item before it is recycled. The packaging is only accepted by the machine if it matches this database.
The data forms the basis for deposit clearing, which is used to process the cash flows between the system participants in accordance with DPG specifications. The marking regulates both the cycle and the recycling of the materials used and their reuse, without which recycling would not be possible.
In accordance with a corresponding DPG specification, the packaging is marked with the DPG marking (special ink and logo), the barcode and the generated item number (GTIN). This ensures transparently and that the respective packaging can be reliably managed in the deposit system.
The bottle rotates counterclockwise, then clockwise – when it is finally transported away on the conveyor belt of the RVM its way in the circular economy begins. The recycled PET, rPET for short, achieves the highest quality standards (food grade) and can be reused in all areas of food packaging as a so-called “fast-mover article”. PET is therefore important for a circular economy as a recyclable material. The higher the proportion of recycled material in a ‘newly’ produced beverage container, the better its eco-balance.