Here is the (somewhat infamous in my mind) recycling center at the "Konsum" grocery store where I shop. This was a major feat to figure out - an accomplishment I took great pride in - after standing quietly in the background several times to watch others, I finally understood the basic premise. One must put glass bottles in the round slot at the top ("pfand" means you get a refund on the glass bottle) and if one buys a whole case of water, juice or bier then the plastic holder-case goes in the large rectangular slot at the bottom. The little screen on the the top right states the amount due and then one must press a button for a tiny receipt that gets printed out. This receipt is then presented to a cashier for a refund - or it can be deducted from a new purchase. Whew.
Of course, there are many glitches to be overcome, like for instance, there are certain plastic cases that the machine doesn't recognize and sometime a "non-pfand" glass bottle gets mixed in with the "pfands" and then one is standing there with an empty useless glass bottle that essentially amounts to "trash" -- as the line behind grows with other shoppers in a hurry to get their little 'pfand' receipts - oh the pressure!
I have gotten much better at this though- and verge on being militant with Christian about separating bottles, and choosing the right plastic case when buying mineral water -- it is a good rcycling system -- a little over-engineered perhaps, but once one gets the hang of it, a method that makes some sense, of course it would all be much easier if we still had that nice red Subaru....gehen zu füss ist ganz schwer... (when 'on foot' or by bike it is a real pain).