Coastal municipality of Bredene to introduce its own deposit return scheme

Environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk Benelux is helping the municipality of Bredene set up a deposit-refund pilot project that will launch next year. With this deposit system, the municipality aims to find a solution for plastic bottles and cans in litter. The coastal municipality is tired of waiting for the Flemish government.

Bredene is the first municipality in Flanders to take this step. The seaside town has two goals in mind: drastically reducing the amount of litter and enabling better recycling of plastic and cans.

“Litter is annoying for people walking along the beach or in the park. Cows that ingest pieces of cans get sick or die. People do not go for beach or forest walks to constantly see rubbish lying around, they might as well go for a walk in a recycling centre. Birds and fish get tangled in litter or mistake it for food,” says the mayor of Bredene, Steve Vandenberghe (sp.a).

He is asking the other coastal municipalities to join the project during the coastal mayors' consultation on Wednesday 3 April.

40 per cent of the volume of litter consists of cans and plastic bottles. Bredene expects deposits to cut this significantly. After all, a clean environment is a key asset for a coastal municipality. In Germany, thanks to the deposit system, up to 98% of beverage packaging is returned.

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Het Nieuwsblad, Coastal town is tired of litter: as of 2020, you won't throw away a single can in Bredene just like that