Its common everywhere in germany and also other countries, and why is it obscene and ludicrous?
Sometimes you also get issued a "token" and the refund is only possible with the token, so you can't return other cups you find lying around.
The token is ridiculous and makes no sense. I've actively interrogated GPT4 on it and it becomes increasingly nonsensical trying to explain it.
Possession of the cup itself is proof in itself that I possess the item of value worth the pfand. The token itself is pointless.