What is the main idea of the passage?

A refundable deposit can encourage container returns, but its success also depends on a usable collection system. (The passage explains the return incentive and balances it against collection costs, deposit size, and access.)

Why might someone collect a container another person abandoned?

The collector may return it and receive the refundable deposit. (The refund remains attached to returning the container, so another person can respond to the same incentive.)

What does “refundable” mean here?

Able to be paid back when a stated condition is met (The extra amount is paid back after the buyer or collector returns the container.)

Which problem can make returning a container harder?

Living far from a return point (The third paragraph notes the inconvenience faced by people who are far from a return point.)

The Deposit That Brings a Bottle Back: Level 3 Reading Comprehension Questions

A drink container may be worth little after it is empty. Dropping it in a bin is easy, while carrying it to a collection point takes effort. A refundable deposit changes that choice. The buyer pays a small extra amount and receives it back when the container is returned.

The deposit gives the empty container a visible value. A person who would have discarded it now has a reason to return it. Someone else may collect an abandoned container and claim the refund, so the incentive can work even after the first buyer walks away. Returned containers can then enter a reuse or recycling system with less litter and more predictable material.

The system is not costless. Shops or machines need space, staff, transport, and rules for damaged containers. A deposit set too low may not change behavior; one set high creates a larger payment before the refund. Some deposits are never claimed. Those funds do not erase the inconvenience faced by people far from a return point.

A deposit therefore joins a price signal to a collection system. The money matters because return is possible, and the return network matters because the money can be recovered.

Comprehension questions