Recycling Netwerk calls for introduction of deposit return system in Flanders

“Recycling in Flanders will only get properly on track when PET bottles and cans are removed from the PMD waste bag of plastic, metal, and drink cartons, and up to 98% is recycled via a deposit system, as is done in Germany”. This is stated by director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk, a coalition of environmental organisations.

Report VTM-Nieuws

https://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/voer-statiegeld-op-pet-fles-en-blikjes

Rob Buurman: “For a clean environment, it is crucial that all PET bottles are recycled, and do not end up littered in nature. With a deposit system in place, where customers get back their €0.25 deposit when they return the bottles to the shop, more than 98 percent of plastic PET bottles are recycled in Germany.

“With the blue PMD bag in Flanders, that rate is only 62%. After all, many bottles and cans end up in residual waste bags or in public dustbins because they have become worthless. They are then incinerated in a waste incineration plant. Even worse: many PET bottles end up littered in nature or in the sea”.

Now that Fost Plus is pushing for a change in the contents of the blue bags, this is the ideal moment to remove PET bottles from them. “The Flemish government and Environment Minister Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) should not let waste policy be entirely dictated by the beverage industry. Allowing more types of plastics in the blue bag is fine, but PET bottles and cans should be taken out. If Schauvliege and the Flemish government are smart, they will use this momentum to introduce a deposit system for all plastic PET bottles and cans”, says Buurman.

After all, a deposit system is the cheapest and most effective way to solve the problem of cans and bottles on the streets and in nature. The system is cheap: the cost of running the system amounts to about 1 eurocent per drink packaging, according to German and Norwegian data. “In Germany, almost no empty bottles or cans are to be found on the streets. This is very different in Flanders, where the cost of clearing litter is skyrocketing: 103 million euros per year,” Buurman explains.

Report VRT Nieuws

http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/videozone/programmas/journaal/2.51429?video=1.3045719