Ending homelessness through Poland's kaucja return system
CAN IT! turns Poland's deposit-return system into paid, dignified work for people experiencing homelessness. Every 0,50 zł deposit is split in half: one half is a wage, the other funds the loop. Here is the model at a glance, with every document and a live earnings simulator.
The 50/50 rule
For every 0,50 zł deposit reclaimed, half is paid as a 100% take-home wage and half runs the whole system. Grants and the expert panel's donated expertise only fund the one-off build, never the running loop, so the model stands on the kaucja itself.
Start here
Concept & Briefing Paper
The whole system, the kaucja context, the model and the national rollout.
Earnings simulator
See what a service user can earn from returned cans, in Polish or English.
The full concept pack
Open any document in the viewer, or download it. All figures are illustrative and confidential to the panel.
The panel of experts
The eleven experts giving their time to build CAN IT!. Click your card to respond.
Service-user earnings simulator
An interactive, Polish-first calculator of what a service user can earn from the kaucja. Adjust the cans, days and share to see take-home pay. It also installs to a phone home screen as an app.
Join the panel, build a national movement
This is an invitation to a small panel of experts to shape and champion CAN IT! from the first city to a national programme.
What the panel does
- Shapes the pilot: policy, operations, fintech, retail, social work and safeguarding.
- Donates expertise in kind, the technology and set-up worth about 200,000 zł, so the pilot needs less cash to launch.
- Opens doors: retailers, municipalities, voivodeships, national and EU funders.
- Champions the movement, city by city, toward a national footprint.
What we ask
- Able to donate time and expertise, with meetings scheduled in the evening so a 9-to-5 can continue.
- A short introductory call to start, then a light, flexible commitment as the pilot takes shape.
Ready to say yes?
Find your card and respond.
People experiencing homelessness earning viable salaries and becoming financially empowered. Open The panel, click your card, and tell us "Count me in!" with the evenings you're free next week at 19:30 for an intro call.