Comments by "Laurence Fraser" (@laurencefraser) on "Why the Glass Bottle FAILED" video.
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Someone ends up with the deposit money that you didn't get back. The money isn't 'lost', but you, individually, are out of pocket (in that you didn't get your deposit back nor actually gain anything in exchange for paying that money), and have thus 'made a loss'. Who, exactly, ends up with that money depends on how the system is set up, though yes, it does probably end up with the company making the product.
Where you're going wrong is the assumption that the manufacturer comes out ahead ('makes a profit') by keeping the deposit. In reality they don't, because now they have to make a replacement bottle instead, which, with glass bottles, costs them quite a bit more than paying you the deposit amount would have... that's the entire point of the deposit system, it's cheaper for the manufacturer than just making new bottles all the time. So they're actually spending MORE money if you don't claim your deposit... that's a 'loss' for Them, too, not something that helps their profits. ... well, Technically they made a larger profit on the specific bottle they sold you, but they made a smaller profit (by quite a bit more), or even a loss depending on how the numbers shake out, on the next bottle of drink they sell that Would have gone in the bottle you had, had you retuned it, and must now instead go in a much more expensive (for them) new bottle instead. That's not them coming out ahead, and so by most logic is not considered a profit for them.
(Actually, I suspect it works a lot like the Goods and Services Tax here, where the retailor records how many bottles they sold and how many deposits they repaid and then pay or are paid the balance for the month/year by the company. Businesses tend to prefer systems like that rather than individual per item/event transactions when they can manage it).
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