The German Brewers' Union said the fall in sales of cans and bottles liable to the deposit had not been compensated for by a corresponding upturn in sales of reusable containers.

Its head, Peter Hahn, said brewers reckoned on a drop of up to 10 million hectolitres this year alone, which could endanger thousands of jobs.

Germans are already famously obsessive about recycling. Citizens carefully separate waste into as many as four separate containers, and many supermarkets give shoppers a refund at the checkout.

The new rules, which took effect at the start of the year, put a deposit of 25 to 50 euro cents on carbonated drinks such as beer, fizzy mineral water and lemonade.

The aim is to turn Germans even more off non-reusable containers and encourage them to take their refuse back to the shop where they bought it, provided they have proof of purchase.

SPACE.WIRE