New law will make shopping more expensive in Hungary from October
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From October, waste management fees will rise again in Hungary. The energy minister’s new decree imposes significant additional costs on manufacturers in several product categories, and these are expected to be passed on to consumers. As a result, shopping will be more expensive from October.
Waste fees will show up in prices
The change goes back to the waste management system launched by the government in 2023. At that time, it was decided that for the next 35 years, the MOL subsidiary MOHU MOL Waste Management Zrt. would handle most of the Hungarian waste market. Along with the concession, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system was also introduced: its essence is that producers must pay in advance for the cost of handling the waste generated by their products – meaning the collection and recycling of packaging, furniture, electronic devices or even clothing.
These costs are built into company pricing, so shoppers ultimately pay for waste management at checkout. Now, the recently published new decree by Energy Minister Csaba Lantos raises EPR fees further. From October, an even greater burden will fall on producers – and through them, on consumers.
Significant price hikes across multiple areas
From October, the new decree will increase the per-kilogram EPR fee for several materials. Among others:
- wooden furniture: from 17 to 51 forints,
- textile packaging: from 67 to 148 forints,
- glass packaging: from 77 to 107 forints,
- advertising paper: from 94 to 204 forints.
The fees on electronic waste, batteries, lamps and vehicles will also rise.
Disproportionate profit at MOHU
Critics of the waste management system argue that the problem is not financing waste collection itself, but that MOHU achieves far greater profit margins from the fees collected than EU rules would allow. According to some calculations, the company operates with a 70–80 percent margin on certain waste types, while the EU only considers a 9 percent “reasonable profit” justified.