After 20 years of bickering, there is finally a deposit on cans

"But besides being happy and proud about this result, it is concerning that consumers will soon not be able to get their deposit back everywhere and the amount of 15 cents is also too low to get as many cans returned as possible."

The facts

Just like with bottles, there will also be a 15-cent deposit on cans. Consumers will get this money back when they return the can, for example at the supermarket. The Netherlands already had a deposit on large PET bottles (25 cents deposit), and small PET bottles were added in the summer of 2021. This immediately led to a significant reduction in these bottles in litter.

The share of cans in litter, on the other hand, has only increased in recent years. We expect that after the introduction of deposits on cans, just like with plastic bottles, we will quickly see a large decrease.

Points for improvement

We are not there yet with just the introduction of deposits on cans. The system must be set up properly and with the consumer in mind to ensure that as many cans as possible are returned.

Too low deposit amount

We find 15 cents on cans to be too low a deposit amount. Deposits on cans are new to consumers and people need to get used to this. A good deposit amount helps people raise awareness and adopt new behaviour. In addition, the Dutch government has established in law that 90% of cans (and bottles) must be returned, and a good deposit amount helps with that.

Of the small plastic bottles with a 15-cent deposit, much less than 90% are collected. In Germany, there is a 25-cent deposit on all beverage packaging and 98% is returned. Also not unimportant: if fewer beverage containers are returned, supermarkets also have to pay out less deposit money. Thus, low return rates lead to financial benefits for businesses, at the expense of the consumer.

Consumers must be able to get their deposit back in many more places

The whole idea of a deposit is that you, as a consumer, get your money back when you return your beverage packaging. At the moment, however, this is not the case at many points of sale, such as cinemas, pharmacies, and amusement parks. There, at best, you can leave your bottle, and soon your can, in a waste bin, but no deposit is paid out in exchange for this good behaviour. Businesses do include these locations when speaking of the more than 27,000 collection points in the Netherlands, but that is misleading because they are in fact not part of the deposit system. Because you cannot get a deposit back upon return at all locations where you can buy bottles and cans, it is made more difficult for consumers to get their money back. This is a bad thing and it undermines the functioning of the deposit system and thereby the intended environmental impact.

Suze Govers: "It is known to the government that the deposit system for plastic bottles does not work well enough and it is also clear what needs to change, but they are not taking control. As a result, we will soon run into the same problems with cans."

Delay

According to the law, deposits on cans should actually have started on 31 December last year. Businesses had almost 2 years to set up the system, but wasted more than a year themselves by first focusing on collection outside the supermarket. Shortly after this plan was withdrawn under social and political pressure and in-store collection was announced, the business sector indicated that they were short of time and would not start until 1 April 2023. The government did not agree, but was left empty-handed after the Council of State deemed the businesses' indicated time pressure plausible.

A look back

Deposits are a long-drawn-out and politically charged dossier. It has taken successive governments no less than more than 20 years to decide on extending deposits, and then initially only for small plastic bottles. Together with many other environmental organizations, municipalities, consumer organizations, individual litter pickers, and Members of Parliament, we have committed ourselves to this for years with a heart for the environment. We would like to look back at a number of moments that contributed to the final decision to also introduce a deposit on cans.

Plastic soup? Cans contain plastic too

When State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) sets up a trajectory for deposits on bottles in March 2018, there is a lot of criticism that cans have been left out of consideration. Van Veldhoven indicates that she is focusing exclusively on bottles, mainly due to the "urgency of the plastic soup". On 1 July 2019, Recycling Netwerk publishes a video in which they demonstrate that beverage cans also contain plastic. This helps to get deposits on cans back on the political agenda.

Cow suffering and the turnaround of the CDA

When a study commissioned by Recycling Netwerk Benelux shows that thousands of cows become ill and die every year due to litter, and that cans play a major role in this, farmers' federation LTO joins the Deposit Alliance. This support and research later caused a U-turn at the CDA, led by circular economy spokesperson and dairy farmer Maurits von Martels. Together with ChristenUnie and D66, the CDA submitted a motion that ultimately formed the basis for the decision on deposits on cans.

Public encouragement accelerates the decision

Since the end of 2017, the very rapidly growing Deposit Alliance has been calling for the introduction of deposits on bottles and cans. Among the more than 1,300 partners are no less than 98% of Dutch municipalities. When it becomes clear that a decision for the cans will only be made by the next government, the Deposit Alliance starts a targeted campaign for this: "Statiegeld, Yes We Can!". The participating businesses, organizations, and municipalities encourage the government, and specifically then-State Secretary Van Veldhoven, with colourful posters to decide on deposits on cans during this governing period. Members of Parliament Cem Laçin (SP), Carla Dik-Faber (ChristenUnie), and later even Maurits von Martels (CDA), and also Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers' Association, cheer Van Veldhoven on in videos to make the final decision themselves, which eventually happened.