The government contributed one-third of the cost of the containers. During the autumn and winter of 1989–90,the College of Agriculture undertook an economic study and evaluated the pilot project in terms of modifications in the system and the design of containers. The pilot project worked out so well that retailers decided to use the containers even before the College of Agriculture had completed their evaluation. The use of containers kept increasing,
although at this stage the system operated essentially without any
rules. By 1 July 1990, however, the parties involved had drafted rules
for how the Kisten-Pool should work.