A Record 46,359 Deposit Bottles and Cans Collected at Pohoda 2026. The Proceeds Will Help Ukraine

A record 46,359 deposit bottles and cans were collected through waste sorting at the 30th edition of Pohoda. All the proceeds, almost €7,000, will go to Music Saves Ukraine, a long-term partner of Pohoda that supports Ukrainian musicians and music communities affected by the war. This year, the money will support Ukrainian music schools, which will use it to buy musical instruments and other essential equipment.

11. November 2026

Thanks to festivalgoers, sorting containers can bring real help where it’s needed. Last year, together with the Swiss foundation Culture & Education for Life, we supported an art school in the Ukrainian village of Berehomet through the Music Saves Ukraine grant programme. The school is dedicated to preserving authentic Ukrainian traditional music, and despite the war, its students also take part in farewells to the country’s fallen defenders.

With this support, the school got a new cimbalom and a double bass. Until then, it had only one cimbalom, the foundation of the local musical tradition, made back in the 1950s and long beyond repair. It had never had a double bass at all. The new instruments have helped the local ensemble reach a more professional level, so its music can keep on playing.

Thank you to everyone who sorted their returnable containers at Pohoda, and to Správca zálohového systému (the Slovak Deposit Return System Administrator) for many years of cooperation. Thanks to you, a responsible approach to waste is turning into help that truly matters.