Overview
- Paweł Mej, known online as “Bosy Biegacz,” spent about ten hours at a reverse-vending machine in Bochnia on Thursday, September 17th to return 11,218 bottles and cans.
- Mej said he collected the containers since March while cycling through nearby towns and villages and brought them to the machine in sacks for the single-day return.
- The returns produced 5,609 złoty, which Mej has said will fund local projects such as the volunteer fire service and school equipment while he keeps part for living costs.
- Poland introduced a national deposit-return system in October 2025 that pays 0.50 złoty for one-way plastic bottles and cans and 1 złoty for reusable glass bottles, creating the financial incentive behind the collection.
- Mej frames the action as ongoing activism rather than a one-off stunt, and he now uses the campaign to raise further funds for a fire truck while highlighting how deposit-return schemes can supply modest income and local aid.