The handling fee is the fee per can and bottle, in addition to the deposit, that the grocery store receives as compensation for receiving packaging that is a part of the deposit system. The fee is meant to cover the grocery stores costs for handling the deposit (service of reverse vending machine, customer service, work, facility, materials).
Grocery stores with a compressing reverse vending machine receive a fixed annual fee as well as a variable fee per can and bottle. Both the fixed and variable fee are paid weekly.
We have compiled a number of questions and answers to make it easy to understand what the new model for handling compensation means.