Figure 1 – European countries where Return to retail-DRS has been introduced, voted on or is being discussed.
Last modified: February 2024.
More and more governments in Europe are deciding to introduce deposits on cans and plastic bottles. The pace has accelerated since the approval of the European directive on single-use plastics in 2019. The Single Use Plastic Directive (SUPD) stipulates that all plastic bottles must contain at least 25% recycled content by 2025, and that member states must collect 90% of plastic bottles separately by 2029. One Member State after another is therefore deciding to introduce deposits and thus combats litter and plastic pollution. In this article we discuss the decisions of governments and parliaments in European Member States.
Figure 1 – European countries where Return to retail-DRS has been introduced, voted on or is being discussed.
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler launched the Austrian government’s 3-point plan to stop plastic waste on September 7, 2020 . The law on single-use packaging was adopted in October 2021. It provides deposits on disposable beverage packaging, PET bottles and cans.
On September 8, 2022, Léonore Gewessler announced that the deposit will be operational in 2025. The deposit amount will be €0.25 and will apply to all packaging between 0.1 and 3 liters. There is only one exception, milk, because of the risk of spoilage. Austrians will be able to return their empty drinks containers at all points of sale and receive a deposit back. This is also possible in train stations and container parks. “The goal is to design the most effective deposit system in all of Europe,” said climate minister Gewessler.
The Austrian government of conservatives and greens also wants to demand that from 2023, i.e. next year, 25% of drinks sold are sold in reusable drinks packaging. That figure should rise to 40% in 2025 and 55% in 2030. A Research Affairs poll in August 2020 shows that 81% of Austrians are in favor of a deposit on PET bottles and 76% are in favor of a deposit on cans.
Hungary has introduced the deposit system since January 1, 2024. The system is managed by the system administrator MOHU (MOL Hulladékgazdálkodási Zrt.). The system includes single-use drink packaging in metal, glass and plastic with a capacity of 0.1 liter to 3 liters (excluding dairy products). Consumers pay a 50 Hungarian forint (approximately €0.13) deposit when purchasing a drink in scope and all points of sale with an area of more than 400 m2 must accept empty packaging. Many other points of sale also participate voluntarily and manually in the take-back system.
The Irish government of Conservatives, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Greens announced in September 2020 that deposits will be introduced in the third quarter of 2022. Despite a delay of more than a year in introducing the system, plastic cans and bottles can now also be returned in stores from February 1, 2024 . The system is managed by Re-turn .
The Luxembourg parliament approved the deposit law on May 5, 2022 . There will be one national deposit system for all beverage packaging placed on the Luxembourg market. The deposit amount varies from 10 cents to 1 euro, depending on the type of packaging. The amount of the deposit per type of beverage packaging, the detailed timetable for its introduction and the requirements for the organization of the sector are specified in a Grand Ducal Regulation.
In Latvia, parliament passed the packaging law in October 2019, which plans the introduction of a deposit system. It started on February 1, 2022 . The deposit system accepts glass, plastic (PET) and metal (can) containers filled with soft drinks, all types of beer and other alcoholic drinks (up to 6%). The system is managed by Deposīta Punkts.
Lithuania voted its deposit legislation for single-use cans and bottles in February 2016. The deposit is the same for all packaging and amounts to € 0.10 per bottle or can. The deposit system is managed by Užstato Sistemos Administratorius. The plastic bottle return rate for plastic bottles has been increasing dramatically : it was 34% before the deposit scheme, 74.3% at the end of 2016, 91.9% at the end of 2017 and 93% in 2018. Deposits were introduced during the Butkevičius government, consisting of Socialists, Liberals, Conservatives and Christian Democrats.
In Malta, the government signed the deposit regulations for beverage containers in 2020. The start of the system is expected in 2022, the date will be announced later in the year. The system came into effect on November 14, 2022. The deposit is 0.10 euros for all aluminum and steel cans and glass and PET bottles with a capacity of 0.1 to 3 liters. Dairy products, fruit juices, wine and alcohol with an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 5.0% are currently exempt from this system.
The Dutch Rutte III government decided in April 2020 that there will be a deposit on all small plastic bottles from July 1, 2021. The government of liberal parties VVD and D66 and Christian Democrats of CDA and CU expanded the existing deposit system on large plastic bottles to all plastic bottles. Beverage producers Coca-Cola Netherlands and Spadel Netherlands have shown their support for the expansion of the system. Since the deposit guarantees the quality of the plastic and sufficient recycling of PET, Coca-Cola has chosen the Netherlands as the second country where it will sell 100% recycled plastic bottles.
The instructions quickly gave results in terms of cleanliness. Only six months after the introduction of the deposit on small bottles, the Ministry of Rijkswaterstaat counted a 41 percent reduction in small bottles in nature between December 2021 and 2022.
Ultimately, after a unilateral announcement by the industry, the expansion took place on April 1, 2023. The impact on litter is already proven, in spite of some challenges faced.
The government of Poland decided on June 2, 2022 that there will be a deposit on cans and bottles next year. The deposit system applies to disposable and reusable glass bottles up to 1.5 liters, PET bottles up to 3 liters and aluminum cans up to 1 liter. There will be a take-back obligation for stores of more than 100 m². Smaller outlets will be able to join the system voluntarily.
In October 2021, the Romanian government decided to introduce a deposit system. Since November 30, 2023, packaging can be returned to any point of sale that sells drinks. The deposit is of be 0.50 ron (0.20 euro) and all beverage packaging made of glass, plastic and metal with a volume between 0.1 and 3 liters are included.
In Slovakia, the parliament passed a law in September 2019 that introduces a deposit scheme for PET bottles and cans from 2022. All stores with an area of more than 300 square meters need to take back empty packagings. The deposit is €0.15. The operator Slovensko zálohuje manages the system. It immediately showed impressive results. In just one year, the return rate for returnable packaging has risen from 60% to 70%.
In Belgium there is a deposit on some reusable glass bottles, such as for beer. The debate about the introduction of deposits on cans and plastic bottles has been going on for more than ten years. In Belgium, deposits are the responsibility of the regions of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. In 2018, the industry was given a last chance to tackle the growing litter with awareness and fines. However, the amount of litter is still growing.
In 2017 and 2018, hundreds of municipalities, companies and organizations joined the Deposit Alliance, which asks regional governments to quickly introduce deposits for all cans and plastic bottles. In 2019, the new governments of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia wrote the possible introduction of deposits in their coalition agreements. In 2021, more than 100 Walloon municipalities and 200 Flemish municipalities are part of the Deposit Alliance. The opposition parties in Flanders (Vooruit and Groen) and Wallonia (Les Engagés) put proposals on the table of their respective parliaments to introduce such a system. Walloon Environment Minister Céline Tellier (Ecolo) launched a study into the implementation of deposits in 2022. In the summer of 2022, the municipality of Bredene conducted a successful pilot project with deposits. On September 6, 2022, the Environment Minister of Flanders, Zuhal Demir (N-VA), said that deposits are unavoidable and that the Flemish government will decide in 2022 based on the latest figures on litter.
The new accreditation 2024-2028 of the PRO responsible for household waste management (Fost Plus) provides for the introduction of a deposit system for all cans and bottles, under cover of an agreement between the three regions (article 2).
In May 2021, the Eunomia research group and the Association of Greek Packaging Manufacturers called on the Greek government to introduce a deposit system in the country. Greece has committed to introducing a national deposit system from July, 2023, as part of the new national legislation on waste, recycling and circular economy.
In France, Minister Brune Poirson (of the liberal party En Marche) stated on July 10, 2019 that the French government wants to introduce deposits on plastic bottles and cans. She received the support of French supermarkets and beverage manufacturers, including multinationals that are also active in Belgium and the Netherlands. Due to pressure from conservative mayors in the French Senate, the project has been postponed until 2023. The introduction of a DRS for reusable drinks has been announced in July 2023, a decree proposition is currently discussed in the Parliament. At the same time, DRS for recycling has been postponed by the previous Minister of the Environment Christophe Béchu in September 2023.
A partnership of non-governmental organizations National Association of Comuni Virtuosi, Greenpeace Italia, Oxfam, WWF Italia and Zero Waste Italy, has joined forces to support the introduction of a mandatory national deposit system for beverage packaging in Italy. The campaign, entitled “ Buon Rendere – molto più di un vuoto “, is the first national initiative for a deposit system in Italy. In November 2021, they made a joint appeal to the Draghi government and to Roberto Cingolani, the Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, to accelerate the introduction of an effective deposit system in the country.
A pilot project for a nationwide deposit system was launched in Portugal in March 2020 with the support of the Portuguese food industry and beverage manufacturers. The government has introduced the legal decree providing for the introduction of a deposit system by 2022. However, no decision has yet been made on the practical aspects of this introduction. The Marine Environment Research Association has launched a petition asking the government to introduce the deposit system quickly and effectively.
The director of the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Filip Radović, has announced that the introduction of a deposit system in Serbia to regulate the return and disposal of packaging waste could be discussed in 2019. Although the topic of deposits has been on the table for many years, no decision has been made so far.
Slovenian Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak supported environmental NGO Eko Krog’s proposal to introduce a deposit system in 2021. The association of beverage manufacturers supports the proposal because the system will ensure better separate collection of beverage bottles.
In Spain, in December 2021, a large majority of Congress voted in favor of the Ley de residuos, the law introducing deposits. The law is now on the table of the Senate.
At the level of the United Kingdom, the government of Theresa May (Conservatives) announced a deposit scheme for drinks containers in March 2018. The Blue Planet II series had brought attention to the threat of ocean pollution. In July 2019, the British government stated that it is targeting 2023 to have a fully functioning deposit system. A poll by Populus in June 2020 shows that 84% of Britons are in favor of a deposit on all drinks packaging.
The government of Scotland led by Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party announced in May 2019 the plan to introduce deposits on plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans . The Scottish Parliament voted in favor of the deposit scheme in May 2020. It is scheduled to start in August 2023. The system covers all drinks sold in PET plastic, metal and glass. There will be a fixed deposit of 20 pence (0.23 euros) for all formats.
In January 2023, details of the introduction of the deposit system in the United Kingdom, Wales and Northern Ireland were revealed. The systems in each region must be in place by October 1, 2025. All PET bottles and aluminum and steel cans will be included in the system (between 50 ml and 3 liters). Glass bottles will only be included in the Welsh system. The points of sale must take back the packaging placed on the market (take-back obligation).
In Croatia, since 2006, there has been a deposit of 0.5 Croatian Kuna on non-refillable containers with a minimum volume of 200 ml. Retailers larger than 200 m² are obliged to take back containers. The government administers the scheme. There is a collection target of 95%. Since 2015, deposits have returned 90% of all non-refillable packaging on the Croatian market.
Denmark introduced the first national deposit system in 1922. In 1991 and 1993 it expanded to include plastic bottles. Dansk Retursystem , a private non-profit organization manages the system. In 2019, the system achieved a total efficiency of 92%.
Estonia has had a universal deposit and recycling system for single-use and refillable packaging since 2005. The deposit is €0.10 on most metal, plastic and glass beverage containers. The system is managed by Eesti Pandipakend , a producer responsibility organization representing the Estonian Association of Brewers, the Association of Producers of Soft Drinks, the Association of Importers of Soft Drinks and Beer and the Estonian Association of Retailers.
Finland first introduced the deposit system in 1952 on glass bottles – at the same time as the Summer Olympics that brought Coca-Cola to the country – in glass bottles. In the 1980s, some reusable and sustainable plastic bottles were included in the deposit system. Deposits were introduced on aluminum cans in 1996, on PET bottles in 2008 and on recycled glass bottles in 2012. Suomen palautuspakkaus Oy (abbreviated Palpa), a private consortium of beverage importers and manufacturers, runs the system.
In Germany, the deposit system has been in place for seventeen years , since 2003. There is a deposit on plastic, cans and glass beverage containers. The standard deposit amount has been 0.25 euros since 2016. The deposit is higher for disposable packaging than for reusable packaging, such as glass bottles. 97 to 99% of single-use bottles are returned. The recycling rate of tin is approximately 99% . In January 2021, the German government of Angela Merkel (CDU – SPD – CSU) approved a new Packaging Law , Verpackungsgesetz . The deposit on packaging of juices and alcoholic drinks has been in force since January 2022 and will be extended to dairy products in 2024 . Germany has had a deposit ( Pfand ) on plastic bottles and cans for a long time , since 2003. But juices, wine and milk were excluded. The new Packaging Act therefore only looks at the packaging, and not at what drinks it contains.
Iceland has had a national-scale deposit system for plastic, aluminum and glass beverage containers since 1989 .
Norway adopted a deposit law in 1999. In 2018, rates increased to NOK 2 for small bottles and cans and NOK 3 for large bottles. Infinitum AS (formerly Norsk Resirk) is responsible for implementing the national recycling program for non-refillable plastic bottles and beverage cans. The non-profit organization was founded in 1999. It is owned by companies and organizations in the beverage and food industries.
The Norwegian system works in such a way that the environmental burden decreases as the return increases. This means that, for example, a 90 percent return for cans translates into a 90 percent discount on environmental taxes.
In Sweden, aluminum cans have had a deposit system since 1984 and PET bottles since 1994. Pantamera is responsible for the deposit system for aluminum cans and PET bottles.
We can therefore speak of a real race for deposits. The debate about plastic pollution is happening everywhere. The Member States of the European Union are working hard on legislation to do something about it. The pace varies from country to country, but the direction is the same.
The popularity of deposits is also increasing at the borders of the European Union. In January 2019, Turkey decided to introduce a deposit on all beverage containers within four years. With 80 million inhabitants, Turkey will be the second largest deposit country in the world after Germany.
As part of the revision of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the mandatory introduction of a deposit by 2029 is being discussed, along with essential features. This obligation would apply to all countries failing to achieve a certain return rate. The final version of the decision is still awaited (info March 2024).
The deposit on bottles and cans shows itself as an effective measure against litter. The pilot project ran for a full month from 15 July to 15 August 2022. In Bredene, the Twins Club and beach bars sold their plastic bottles and cans with an additional 0.20€ deposit, clearly visible thanks to a sticker placed on them. Consumers could then manually return the packaging and redeem their deposit at each of the three locations which would then put the empty packaging in a box. Simple and effective.
The results are clear. More than 6,000 packaging with the deposit sticker was sold. At the end of the pilot, 77.20% of the cans and plastic bottles with a sticker were returned. The results surpassed the expectations of the municipality, which expected a return rate of 50 to 70%.
Even more important, not a single packaging with a deposit was found on the beach during this period. Indeed, Proper Strandlopers organized two clean-up campaigns to monitor the evolution of litter on the beach during the project. And no packaging with a sticker was found, clearly showing that the deposit reduces drastically the amount of packaging among litter.
This result is in line with the proven effect that a deposit has on litter in other countries. In the Netherlands, the recent monitoring of Dirk de Groot indicates a decrease of 80% of the amount of small plastic bottles in litter, one year after the introduction of the deposit on small plastic bottles. Bredene’s pilot confirmed this impact also in Belgium.
As pointed out by one of the operators of the beach bar Blauwe Brug on Flemishpublic broadcaster VRT, not a single consumer complained about the presence of a deposit on the drinks. This underscores again the large acceptance of the deposit system among consumers. According to several polls (Test-Aankoop, GfK) consumers all over Belgium are in favor of the introduction of a deposit on plastic bottles and cans in order to reduce litter. This pilot project shows that they not only accept the concept of a deposit, they are also actively taking part in it.
The problem of litter in Belgium has become pressing in the past few years. In Flanders, the government has requested the industry to decrease litter by 20% in 2022, compared to 2015. This decrease is based on the lowest impact expected for a deposit return system according to the analysis of impact made by the official Flemish agency OVAM in 2015. The latest monitoring in 2019 showed an increase of about 14%. While the industry is still reluctant to introduce a DRS, the interest for this system is growing among citizens and municipalities. 70,7% of Flemish municipalities have now joined the Statiegeldalliantie, an alliance that asks the regional governments of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia to introduce deposits on cans and plastic bottles
Given the clear results and the large support of the pilot project, it becomes clear that a deposit is the most effective way to reduce litter in Belgium. As Bredene mayor Steve Vandenberghe states “the introduction of a deposit is a solution, and perhaps the only one, to reduce litter”. This pilot project shows that, in Belgium too, a deposit return system will have a definite and a clearly positive impact on litter.
The deposit on small plastic bottles took off on 1 July in the Netherlands. A cheerful Dutch State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) kicked off the new measure on the beach of Scheveningen, together with the Statiegeldalliantie, the joint initiative of more than 1.100 Dutch and Belgian stakeholders calling for a deposit system.
The 1.100 partners of the Statiegeldalliantie, including Belgian and Dutch organisations of farmers, environmentalists, and citizens are calling for the Belgian regional governments to follow the Dutch example. At an event in Antwerp, Belgium on Thursday, their call was reinforced by Chairman Joachim Coens of the governing party CD&V and chairwoman of the Greens Meyrem Almaci.
Global innovation manager Tom Domen of Ecover represented the business world that is asking for a deposit return system to enable meeting their sustainability goals, especially when it comes to recycled content in PET bottles.
The farmers’ association ABS is asking for the system in order to lower the risk of cow ingesting mall pieces of metal.
They were joined by Canal It Up, Brussels enthusiasts who clean the Brussel canal in kayaks, Ferm, the largest women’s organisation of Flanders, BBL, the Flemish environmental umbrella organisation, and Walloon citizen Régine Florent who pleaded for the 3 Belgian regions to work together. They all called the belgian decision-makers to follow the example of the Netherlands.
The Statiegeldalliantie: “The Dutch will have a nicer and cleaner environment from now on. The pollution and the municipalities’ costs will reduce sharply. Risks for animals to get harmed will decrease. So this is a big victory for all those who have fought for it and for everyone who is keen on a cleaner environment.”
In 2017, Recycling Netwerk Benelux took the initiative to establish the Statiegeldalliantie together with 19 other organisations and 1 Dutch municipality. Today, more than 1,100 partners, including 98% of all Dutch municipalities, are campaigning for deposits in Belgium and the Netherlands, under the flag “Deposit for bottles and cans, Yes We Can!”.
State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) made the decisions for small bottles and cans respectively in April 2020 and in February 2021. The second phase of the deposit return system expansion, the deposit on cans, will take effect on 31 December 2022.
“The positive impact on the Dutch environment will be historical,” says director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk Benelux. “Currently, around 200 million bottles and cans end up in the Netherlands’ streets every year. 4 garbage trucks full of small plastic bottles, every day! A deposit system will reduce this number by 70 to 90 percent”. When the second phase starts and cans are included, Dutch cows will run less risk of being hurt by bits of tin.
“The Deposit Refund Alliance has been made up of Dutch and Belgian members from the outset. Now the Dutch government has decided the deposit on plastic bottles and cans, and society is welcoming the measure with great enthusiasm, the pressure on the Belgian ministers for the environment – in Flanders Zuhal Demir (N-VA), in Brussels Alain Maron (Ecolo) and in Wallonia Céline Tellier (Ecolo) – is increasing. The litter problem is increasing rapidly in recent years, according to the most recent official counts in Belgium.
Het Laatste Nieuws, Statiegeldalliantie wil dat België Nederlands voorbeeld volgt, 1 juli 2021
EenVandaag, Vanaf nu ook statiegeld op kleine plastic flessen, 1 juli 2021
MSN, Statiegeldalliantie viert feest vandaag, 1 juli 2021
AD, Vanaf 1 juli ook statiegeld op kleine plastic flesjes, 30 juni 2021
Test Aankoop, Test Aankoop pleit voor statiegeld op blik en petflesjes
Telegraaf, Pakketjes duurder, wegwerpplastic verboden en rookruimtes dicht: dit verandert er vanaf 1 juli, 1 juli 2021
Distrifood, Innocent wil statiegeld op eigen smoothieflessen, 1 juli 2021
RTV Drenthe, Stelling: Fijn dat er statiegeld zit op kleine flesjes
Hart van Nederland, Kleine flesjes kunnen vanaf vandaag ook ingeleverd worden, maar welke precies en waar?
NOS,, Minimumloon omhoog, huur bevroren, statiegeld op flesjes: dit gaat veranderen per 1 juli, 27 juni 2021
BN De Stem, Sportclubs profiteren van statiegeld op plastic flesjes, nieuwe manier van doneren
Note: We own the rights to the photos below, you are free to use them with reference to “www.statiegeldalliantie.org”.
Photo of State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) at the action yesterday 30 June on the beach of Scheveningen near The Hague
Photo credits: Robin Balou/Statiegeldalliantie
Photo of CD&V President Joachim Coens at the action Thursday 1 July in Antwerp
Photos of the events in Scheveningen (NL) and Antwerp (BE)
The Dutch government has decided today that the Dutch deposit system will be expanded to beverage cans, coming into effect on December 31, 2022.
“The deposit return system will reduce the number of cans in litter with 70 to 90 percent. This is a major victory for the environment”, the six environmental organizations Recycling Netwerk, Stichting De Noordzee, Plastic Soup Foundation, Plastic Soup Surfer, Greenpeace and Natuur & Milieu state in a joint press release.
The dutch deposit return system currently only applies for large plastic bottles and most glass beer bottles. For decades, a small group of members of the Dutch beverage and food industry has prevented a deposit return system on small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands.
The outrage about plastic pollution and the sense of urgency to tackle litter has grown in recent years. The environmental movement and society at large, represented in the Statiegeldalliantie (Dutch-Belgian Alliance for a deposit return system) increased the pressure. A study commissioned by the Dutch government concluded that deposit return systems reduce the presence of cans and bottles in the litter by 70 to 90 percent,.
The State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven (political party D66) presented the companies involved with an ultimatum: they either reduced the amount of beverage packaging as found in litter by 70%, or the government would expand the deposit return scheme. Initially, the agreement only applied to the small plastic bottles. The number of small plastic bottles in litter did not decrease, but increased in 2019. That is why the Dutch cabinet decided in April 2020 to put a deposit on the small plastic bottles, which will go into effect on1 July this year, in five months.
After parliamentary motions of MPs Jan Paternotte (political party D66) and Carla Dik-Faber (political party ChristenUnie) in October 2019, the government in April 2020 decided to set up a similar trajectory for cans, with a deadline for industry in the second half of 2021. When the government’s monitoring data over the first half of 2020 showed no decrease, but an increase of 19 percent in the number of cans in the environment, we asked the cabinet in a joint response to the public consultation to decide to advance the decision, and take it before the elections in March 2021. The cabinet has granted this request today.
The deposit return system for bottles and cans must now be designed in a consumer-friendly way. The vast majority of empty beverage packagings with a deposit are returned to the supermarket. It is therefore important that this sector will cooperate in order to enable consumers to return their empty cans to the supermarket. Horeca and small companies have been officially excluded from any take-back obligation by the government.
It is yet to be seen whether cans containing juices and dairy are excluded from the deposit bill, as is the case for plastic bottles. The environmental organizations point out that it would be better if these packagings would also come with a deposit. The same goes for the pouches, of which large numbers also end up in litter. The German government decided on January 20 this year to also include all beverage containers with juice, wine and dairy in the deposit return system.
Recycling Netwerk Benelux – Suze Govers
Stichting De Noordzee – Ewout van Galen
Plastic Soup Foundation – Jeroen Dagevos
Plastic Soup Surfer – Merijn Tinga
Greenpeace – Meike Rijksen
Natuur & Milieu – Jelmer Vierstra
Newsabc, Farmer and environmentalist have found each other: a deposit on cans
Trouw, Ook blikjes krijgen nu echt statiegeld. ‘Er is geen realistisch alternatief gebleken’
NOS, Kogel door de kerk: per 31 december 2022 statiegeld op blikjes
Het Laatste Nieuws, Nederland voert vanaf eind volgend jaar statiegeld op blikjes in
De Standaard, De tien nieuwsfeiten van de dag
NOS, Jaarlijks 150 miljoen blikjes op straat, hoeveel helpt statiegeld?
RTV Drenthe, Vanaf eind volgend jaar 15 cent statiegeld op blikjes
Het Nieuwsblad, Nederland voert vanaf eind volgend jaar statiegeld op blikjes in
GeenStijl, Vaarwel vrijheid. Nu ook statiegeld op blikjes
Business Insider, 15 cent statiegeld op blikjes vanaf 31 december 2022
NOS Jeugdjournaal, Er komt statiegeld op lege blikjes, 4 februari 2021
RTV Noord, Lopend Vuur: Terecht dat er statiegeld op blikjes komt, 4 februari 2021
NPO Radio 1, Statiegeld op blikjes wordt een feit – Langs de Lijn En Omstreken, 3 februari 2021
De Standaard, Hoeveel jaar zal mijn dochter zijn, wanneer zwerfvuil echt wordt teruggedrongen?, 5 februari 2021
De Stentor, Boer Gerrit kent de dramatische gevolgen van blikjes in het weiland, hij is blij dat er statiegeld op komt
De Telegraaf, Uitslag stelling: ’Eerder statiegeld op blik’
(overview on Campagne voor statiegeld start met veel enthousiasme)
Trouw, Campagne voor statiegeld op blikjes van start in Nederland en België, 24 november 2020
NOS Radio 1, Journaal 06:00 – 09:30 uur, 24 november 2020
VRT Nieuws, Betalen we binnenkort dan toch statiegeld op plastic flessen en blikjes?, 24 november 2020
NPO Radio 1, https://www.nporadio1.nl/stax-toine/uitzendingen/1298413-2020-11-24, 24 november 2020
EenVandaag, Zwerfafval aanpakken? Statiegeldalliantie wil sneller statiegeld op blikjes, maar dat duurt nog even, 24 november 2020
RTL Nieuws, Yes We Can!-campagne moet zorgen voor sneller besluit over statiegeld blikjes, 24 november 2020
RTV Dordrecht, Statiegeldalliantie start met campagne voor statiegeld op blikjes, 24 november 2020
RTV Purmerend, Statiegeld op blikjes! Ook Zwerfinator zegt: #YesWeCan, 24 november 2020
Even tot hier, https://www.bnnvara.nl/eventothier/videos/554464, 28 november 2020
Belang van Limburg, Er moet dringend statiegeld komen, 28 november 2020
Consumentenbond Natuur en milieufederaties
ASN Bank Algemeen Boerensyndicaat Test-Aankoop
Recycling Netwerk Benelux congratulates the Netherlands’ State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) with the progress made last Friday when she published the draft legislation for the introduction of a deposit on cans. Recycling Netwerk calls on the Dutch government and the House of Representatives to complete the entire procedure before the elections in March 2021.
The latest monitoring report on the amount of cans found in litter by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management leaves very little doubt that a deposit will also be issued on beverage cans. The report shows that in the first half of 2020, 19% more cans were found in nature as compared to the reference period in 2016/2017.
“It is an utopian dream to believe that the companies involved could still reverse this upward trend and actually achieve the 70 to 90 percent decline as requested by the government. We ask the government to advance its final decision, so that it will be taken within this government’s term of office,” says Recycling Netwerk director Rob Buurman.
There is indeed a precedent for moving the final decision forward. In the autumn of 2019, it turned out that the number of plastic bottles in the environment did not decrease as promised by the industry – but increased instead. Therefore, State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven advanced the decision moment concerning the introduction of a deposit return system (DRS) on plastic bottles to spring 2020. Consequently, in April 2020 the government decided to introduce the deposit on plastic bottles, which will take effect on 1 July 2021.
A significant and growing part of the business community also desires a rapid decision on the cans in order to gain clarity on the investments necessary on their part.
The political will to introduce a deposit on cans has increased sharply over the recent years. The draft legislation the government approved last Friday results from two political resolutions, tabled by MPs Paternotte and others and Dik-Faber and others and adopted by the House of Parliament in October 2019.
We do add two comments to the text of the draft decision. First of all, we advise the government to immediately include drink pouches in the deposit legislation, because they very often end up in the litter as well.
Secondly, it is highly unlikely that the 90% separate collection target, which is legally prescribed by the draft decree, will be achieved with a deposit amount of € 0.15 per can. Research by CE Delft shows that with a deposit amount of € 0.15 per can, one can expect a return percentage of approximately 88%. We therefore advise the government to set a minimum amount that guarantees the 90% separate collection target.
Although the deposit on small plastic bottles will only take effect on 1 July 2021, this government decision has already proven to be a success. Less than five months after this political decision, Coca-Cola Netherlands already stated that their Dutch bottles will soon be made entirely of recycled plastics (100% rPET). The Netherlands is the second country worldwide, after Norway, where the multinational beverage producer is taking this step. Coca-Cola explicitly said to have been motivated to do so by the deposit decision by government Rutte III. This drew the attention of Forbes and the Financial Times, among others media.
A rapid introduction of a deposit on cans will allow more cans to be recycled, which is a step towards making this type of packaging more sustainable. “Recycling Aluminum Verpakkingen Nederland, a federation of businesses using aluminium packaging, called publicly for the deposit on cans to go into effect earlier than 2022. And bottled water producer Spadel Nederland has also been asking the government to decide for a deposit on cans.
On top of that, one can read in the Explanatory Memorandum to the draft legislation, that the income for the industry is higher than the costs they bear when introducing a deposit on cans. This leaves the industry without any reason to put off the decision any longer.
Furthermore, litter disposal costs for municipalities are expected to drop sharply, by up to 50 million euros. An additional 1.5 to 6 million euros is saved on emptying waste bins. The government also expects a CO2 emission reduction of 23 Kton thanks to a deposit on cans.
“The sooner a deposit will be implemented, the better. We call on the government and the House of Representatives to make a final decision to introduce a deposit on cans during this term of office. We ask the Dutch business community to support politicians in this”, environmental organization Recycling Netwerk concludes.
“Norway has achieved great success with this method. This is a very good way of tackling pollution caused by plastic and cans”, environmental organization Recycling Netwerk Benelux says in response to the coalition agreement.
The Belgian federal coalition agreement stipulates: “It will be investigated in consultation with the regions and the sector whether the incorporation of a deposit scheme in the packaging tax is desirable”.
“The Belgian federal coalition agreement is perfectly in line with the deposit plans that the regional Walloon (p29)and Brussels (p64) governments included in their respective coalition agreements last year. It is the only way in which Belgium will be able to meet the requirements of the European directive on disposable plastics. Belgians will experience a noticeable improvement of their living environment, as a deposit return system reduces the number of cans and bottles in nature by 70 to 90 percent,” says Recycling Netwerk.
The European Single Use Plastic Directive 2019/904 (SUP Directive) stipulates that all plastic bottles must contain at least 25% recycled plastic (rPET) by 2025. This deadline coincides with the end of the Belgian federal legislature. Secondly, member States are obliged to collect 90% of plastic bottles separately by 2029. It is common knowledge that this can only be achieved by introducing a deposit on the beverage packaging. European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, who is responsible for the SUP Directive, therefore advises European member states to introduce a deposit return system.
With a deposit return system, Norway collects separately about 90 percent of plastic bottles and cans. The example of Lithuania shows that a deposit return system can achieve high collection rates very quickly. Lithuania introduced a deposit return system in February 2016. Within 1 year, the collection rate increased from 74.3% at the end of 2016 to 91.9% at the end of 2017. It is because of these figures and the European 90% separated collection target that a series of European countries have already decided to introduce deposit return systems.
With a deposit return system, the collected plastic is much cleaner. With such pure material, companies are able to make new PET bottles from old PET bottles. Coca-Cola Netherlands said earlier this month that they will start producing such 100% rPET bottles in the Netherlands – which they are able to do because the Dutch government already decided in April to put a deposit on all plastic bottles. With a deposit return system, Belgian companies will also be able to switch to PET bottles made from 100% recycled material, collected in Belgium.
“We therefore encourage the Belgian federal government to quickly and ambitiously work out the bills transposing the European directive and incorporating the deposit scheme into the packaging tax. In doing so, Belgium will catch up with the trend of the European member states that use deposits to tackle plastic pollution and litter”, environmental organization Recycling Netwerk Benelux concludes.
Finally, Recycling Netwerk Benelux would like to thank all people, volunteers, litter pickers, local administrators, members of parliament, staff members, experts and policy makers, who actively voice their support for a deposit return system – and in particular all 1,086 partners of the Deposit Alliance (Statiegeldalliantie) who have been advocating since 2017 for the introduction of a deposit return system on cans and all plastic bottles in the Netherlands and Belgium.
They do so through an opinion published on the Euractiv website today. “This is a historic breakthrough in the debate on deposit return systems,” environmental organization Recycling Netwerk Benelux says with delight.
“NMWE and UNESDA believe that well-designed Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) could hold the key – and a growing number of EU member states are coming to the same conclusion and considering their introduction. Coca-Cola European Partners SVP Public Affairs and Government Relations, Hans van Bochove, also agrees that “Well designed DRS would enable the EU to reach its collection targets for beverage bottles faster – and would also secure the food-grade quality rPET that our beverage industries need. In delivering closed loop recycling, DRS would also reduce the quantity of virgin materials needed – thereby lowering the EU’s CO2 footprint and contributing towards its climate objectives.”, says the open letter from NMWE and UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe.
NMWE (previously EFBW) represents more than 500 European bottled water producers. UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe represents soft drink producers operating in Europe, including Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Danone, Nestlé Waters and Red Bull.
“This is a historic breakthrough”, Recycling Netwerk Benelux reacts. “Five years ago, all beverage producers were still traditionally opposing a deposit on plastic bottles. As a result, some European governments have shown reluctance to implement this environmental measure. Now that the companies involved are themselves calling for a deposit return system, there is no longer any reason to hesitate. A deposit return system reduces the number of plastic bottles in the environment by 70 to 90 percent. For the governments of countries such as France, Spain and Belgium, this has to be the starting signal to finally lay down national legislation on DRS,” says the environmental organization.
“We have always explained that the European target of 90% separate collection for plastic bottles, as set out in the Single Use Plastic Directive, can only be achieved by means of deposit return systems. And today the beverage producers themselves also publicly state that they need DRS to live up to the European legal obligations. That really is a game changer. ”
Eight European countries have had a deposit return system for plastic bottles and cans for many years. In the past four years, another ten European governments took the decision to introduce or expand their national deposit return schemes. Two days ago, Recycling Netwerk Benelux published the analysis that beverage producers are becoming increasingly positive towards DRS. “But with this statement, they made it absolutely clear to national governments that they fully support deposit return systems for plastic bottles”, the environmental organization concludes.
This entails a huge expansion of the current deposit return system in the Netherlands. “After decades of resistance by industry, this government’s decision is excellent news in the fight against plastic pollution”, director Rob Buurman of environmental NGO Recycling Netwerk Benelux reacts.
Currently, only plastic bottles larger than 1 liter have a deposit in the Netherlands. On the 1st of July 2021, small bottles under 1 liter will come with a deposit amount of minimum 0.15 euro. Each year, 1 billion small plastic bottles are sold in the Netherlands. Between 50 and 100 million of them end up in litter. The Dutch authorities are also preparing legislation for deposits on beverage cans.
In 2017, Recycling Netwerk Benelux co- founded the Statiegeldalliantie (Deposit Return System Alliance) in order to give a voice to Dutch and Belgian proponents of a deposit return system (DRS) on all plastic bottles and cans. The alliance grew very rapidly and today counts 1055 Dutch and Belgian consumer organisations, farmer organisations, municipalities, and a wide variety of organisations and companies.
In the process, the Dutch authorities commissioned a study on the economic and environmental benefits of DRS. The results were very convincing. In every scenario the estimated net benefits for businesses (31 – 121 million euro) outweigh the costs (10 – 110 million euro). They would also save between 5.5 and 8 million euro on alternative collection systems. And additionally, municipalities could save between 83 and 90 million euro on the costs of cleaning up plastic bottles and cans and emptying public garbage bins. DRS is expected to reduce the amount of these beverage containers in the environment with 70-90% and significantly increase recycling rates of plastic bottles and cans.
Over the years, Dutch supermarkets and beverage producers have made promises over and over again to reduce plastic bottles and cans in litter and have failed to do so every time. The government gave industry, which was still heavily lobbying against DRS, one last chance to reduce the number of plastic bottles in the environment with at least 70% between 2017 and 2019. In these two years, however, the amount of plastic bottles in litter actually increased with 7% and the cans increased with 16%, according to the official monitoring results.
Importantly, the European Directive on Single-Use Plastics demands that Member States achieve a 90% separate collection of plastic bottles by the end of the decade. The Netherlands has advanced its national deadline and is determined to reach this 90% separate collection target already in 2022 by means of DRS.
“By implementing a deposit on small plastic bottles, the Netherlands takes a big step. The Dutch government shows that this is no time to delay or abandon our environmental ambitions. Even in difficult times it’s possible to make good policy decisions that will benefit the economy, society and the environment, rather than bowing to industry attempts to use the pandemic as an excuse for backsliding on popular initiatives”, director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk Benelux says.
Press contact: Tom Zoete tom.zoete@recyclingnetwerk.org
Related articles:
Dutch introduce 15 cent deposits on small plastic drinks bottles from 2021
Ministers urged not to delay plans for deposit return scheme for Scotland
Belgium will likely have to change its waste policy in order to reach the new EU 90% separate collection target for plastic bottles. This year, Europe adopted the directive that obliges member states to separately collect 90% of plastic bottles from 2029. This target is part of the European directive on single-use plastics. Nine European member states are ready to attain this target, thanks to their existing national deposit-return systems. The other 18 member states will have to change their waste collection system.
Blue bags
Some Belgian companies, mostly in the retail sector, still are reluctant to introduce a deposit-return system on plastic bottles. They claim that the actual rate of plastic recycling is good enough.
But the RTBF documentary reveals that in reality, the plastics recycling is significantly lower than what they want people to believe.
What’s does the actual belgian system look like? At home, the Belgians throw their plastic bottles, cans and cardboard packaging in “blue bags”. The system of the blue bag is controlled by Fost Plus and these bags are collected on a regular basis.
Out of home, most plastic bottles are collected with public waste bins. In some locations, such as train stations or in offices, there are also dedicated waste bins for plastic bottles and other separately collected waste.
At the sorting centre
The journalists of the RTBF followed the trail of these blue bags. The RTBF-documentary reveals that the plastic content is not recycled in Belgium, but abroad, in Germany, the Netherlands and France, more than 350 kilometers away from the Belgian sorting centre.
The manager of the French recycling centre admits that only 68% of the PET he receives after sorting is actually recycled. The rest is incinerated. And then we are only talking about the losses of the PET-stream that has already been sorted, and not about the sorting losses when the PET is being separated from other waste streams. According to the RTBF this means that, while Fost Plus claims a 42% recycling rate of plastic, in reality it is rather only 29%. The real recycling rate is therefore less than one third of all plastics put on the market in Belgium. The remaining plastics are burned, dumped or end up in litter.
This confirms earlier fact checks, done by Recover, a cooperation between local municipalities and waste intercommunal organisations, and Recycling Netwerk (NGO). These organisations also concluded that the Fost Plus figures are exaggerated. According to Recover, only half of the plastic bottles are being recycled in Belgium. Recycling Netwerk estimated that maximum 61-67% of the plastic bottles are being recycled. The numbers of Fost Plus are incorrect because they weigh the plastic bales after sorting, while they still contain a lot packagings from abroad, wrongly sorted packagings, packagings from freeriders, liquids and dirt. And it all gets added to the recycling rate of Belgian packagings, leading to significant overestimations.
90% separate collection
The new EU 90% separate collection target for plastic bottles is not exactly the same as a recycling target. Right now, the European Commission is also working on guidelines on how to measure the 90%-target. But in any case: it seems unlikely that the new rules can be interpreted and bent in such a way, that a 90% separate collection rate in the statistics, will ever be achieved.
For decades, the industry has promoted the Belgian system as an “example” for waste collecting in Europa and the world. But the world is moving forward and the Belgian system is no longer seen as a best in class-example. After decades of tweaking and improving, the Belgian system still falls short significantly. There really is no reason to think it is able to leapfrog to 90% separate collection of plastic bottles, now that so many people consume plastic bottles out of home. Separation at home with the blue bag, simply offers no real solution.
Deposit-return systems
Only the countries with a deposit-return system are ready to attain the European 90% target: Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, and Sweden. Lithuania even proved within 2 years after the introduction of the system that it could exceed the target with a separate collection rate of 91.9%.
The Netherlands are currently planning to expand the deposit return scheme on plastic bottles larger than 1 liter, to all plastic bottles. The UK government and the French government are making legislation to introduce deposit-return. The French proposal has the support of the beverage companies, the supermarkets and the French public opinion. Slovakia voted its law on deposit-return in September.
In Belgium, the Brussels region announced a deposit-return systems in its coalition agreement and Wallonia stated it will defend the introduction of the system. Meanwhile, more than a thousand cities, companies and NGOs have joined forces in the Statiegeldalliantie (Deposit Return Alliance) to ask the Dutch and Belgian governments to introduce deposit return on all plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands and Belgium.
“This is a breakthrough in the battle against littered plastic bottles and cans”, says environmental NGO Recycling Netwerk Benelux.
The new coalition agreement text is very clear on the subject: “The Government will introduce a deposit-return system on beverage cans and plastic bottles” (page 105 of the coalition agreement).
The Brussels coalition of social-democrats (PS and one.brussels), Greens (Ecolo and Groen) and liberals (Défi and Open VLD) is the first regional government that has been formed after the Belgian elections of May 26th.
Plastic bottles and cans make up 40% of the litter in volume. Deposit-return systems reduce the presence of these beverage packagings in litter by 70 to 90 percent. “This decision of the Brussels government is therefore a very important one. A deposit-return system is highly effective in realising and maintaining a cleaner city”, Recycling Netwerk says.
Beverage companies and supermarkets
Earlier this month, the French government announced a deposit-return system. The proposal got the support of the French branches of the major beverage companies, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé and Danone, and French supermarkets including Carrefour, Aldi and Lidl. They announced their support for a deposit-return system through an open letter of their federations in the French national newspaper Journal du Dimanche.
“We invite Belgian beverage companies and supermarkets to do the same. The path towards a circular economy needs the collaboration of companies. Hence, we invite them to clearly state their support for a deposit-return system in Brussels and Belgium”, Recycling Netwerk concludes.
National governments have two years to implement the Directive’s minimum standards into national legislation. This is an ideal opportunity for ambitious Member States to go further and design a waste policy that fully respects the environment.
The European Council adopted the directive Tuesday morning, which is the final step in the procedure. The directive is expected to be published in the official journal before summer. This will start the two years’ time frame for the national governments to implement these new rules into their national legislation.
As an environmental NGO, Recycling Netwerk Benelux asks the national governments to rapidly implement the European legislation into national laws, and to go beyond the minimum legal requirements further and move further away from single-use items, made both of plastic and other materials “Europe has taken this first step in the battle against single-use plastics. All eyes now turn to the national governments to implement this in their national laws.The plastic waste on land and in our seas has degenerated into an acute emergency and requires quick and decisive action. National governments can and should move faster than the European deadlines. This can help them in many domains: a cleaner environment, less clean-up costs for their taxpayers, and an advance in the circular economy”, Recycling Netwerk says.
The European NGO Zero Waste Europe has published a guide for governments to transpose the directive. “We strongly recommend the national and regional government to follow this path”, Recycling Netwerk says.
The directive is well known for its ban on a range of single-use plastic items. But equally important articles are those that require 90% separate collection of plastic bottles in the near future, and articles that rightfully charge the bill of the clean-up costs where it belongs: the producers of plastic.
Producers of certain single-use items containing plastic, such as cigarette butts, balloons, specific food containers and drink containers, will have to pay the clean-up costs of litter, says article 8 of the directive. This measure will apply to packaging and cigarette butts from January 2023. It will come into effect for wipes and balloons at the end of 2024. This is a good measure, says environmental NGO Recycling Netwerk Benelux, as it will push companies to seriously improve prevention and support the implementation of effective collection systems. It is also fairer than the current situation, where local authorities, and thus taxpayers, pay the bill for the clean-up costs of litter.
The European Member States will have to separately collect 90% of plastic bottles from 2029 onwards. This is a very effective target to keep plastic bottles out of our nature and seas.
Practically speaking, setting the target on 90% collection implies the implementation of deposit-return systems. Deposit-return systems have proven their effectiveness in Norway and Germany. Earlier this month, Scotland decided to introduce the deposit-return system.
In the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, the debate is ongoing but the decision to introduce it on all plastic bottles has not yet been put into firm legislation.
The Directive also states that all new plastic bottles have to contain a minimum of 30% recycled content in the year 2030. This decision will boost the market demand for recycled material and fire up the circular economy of plastics.
The following single-use plastics will be banned by 2021: straws, cotton buds, drink stirrers, cutlery and plates, beverage cups and food and beverage containers made from expanded polystyrene, and the so-called oxo-degradable plastics. These items are found very often on beaches and alternatives are readily available. It is a good thing that Europe has made a start in banning some single-use plastic products for which other alternatives are available instead of letting them continue to pollute our environment.
For certain food packaging containing plastic, like the single-use beverage cups at Starbucks and the fast-food containers at McDonalds, Member States are obliged to realise a consumption reduction. This means that those companies will have to make a switch to alternative materials and reusable packaging.
Related articles: The Guardian, European parliament votes to ban single-use plastics, 28/03/2019