Delaying tactics by business sector demonstrate need to tighten deposit law

On Monday, the Afvalfonds Verpakkingen (Packaging Waste Fund) announced that their deposit system for cans will not be ready until 1 April 2023. With this, the industry wants to exceed the legal implementation date of 31 December 2022 by 3 months. For environmental organisations Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Plastic Soup Foundation, Greenpeace Netherlands, Natuur & Milieu, Plastic Soup Surfer, and Stichting de Noordzee (The North Sea Foundation), this move does not come as a surprise. "This attempt at delay, which we have warned about on multiple occasions, shows once again that too much leeway has been given to the business community. There is an urgent need to tighten the deposit law to prevent further resistance and to guarantee a well-functioning deposit system.", says director Rob Buurman. In particular, the cabinet's choice to let points of sale, including supermarkets, decide for themselves whether they return deposits to the consumer, caused concern for environmental organisations from the very beginning, as this gave the resisting supermarkets the freedom to frustrate the process. The House of Representatives followed this and asked about the progress of the process on several occasions. In response, both outgoing State Secretary Steven Van Weyenberg and current State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen answered that the commencement date of 31 December 2022 is legally anchored and therefore delay is not an option. State Secretary Heijnen repeated this position on Monday. The cabinet gave the business community a total of more than 22 months to set up the deposit system for cans. This is more than sufficient to set up a well-functioning deposit system. In other countries, the implementation period is often set at around 12 months. The business community itself has wasted a lot of time resisting. Initially, supermarkets did not want to collect the cans, which is why the Afvalfonds previously set up an alternative plan for collecting cans outside supermarkets. Only on 9 March 2022, one day before a hearing in the House of Representatives about this plan, did the business community withdraw this plan again. This attempt at delay is not the first and only problem surrounding the roll-out of deposits for bottles and cans in the Netherlands. The environmental movement is therefore calling on the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Vivianne Heijnen and the House of Representatives to put things in order as quickly as possible and to take back control of the deposit policy. In fact, this means that the legislation must be revised and improved. The most important point is the introduction of a collection obligation (or a 'money-back right') for points of sale so that people can return their bottles and cans anywhere in exchange for a deposit. Further points that should be included in this revision include increasing the minimum deposit amount, introducing a deposit on beverage cartons and plastic bottles for which a deposit is not yet mandatory, and tackling illegal trade in deposit-free bottles. In the media: AfvalOnline, Afvalfonds wants to postpone deposit on cans; ANP, Recycling Netwerk: Postponement of deposit is due to too much leeway; FoodAgriBusiness, Disagreement over postponement of deposit on cans; Trouw, Recycling Netwerk: postponement of deposit is due to too much leeway

On Monday, the Afvalfonds Verpakkingen announced that their deposit system for cans will not be ready until 1 April 2023. With this, the industry wants to exceed the legal implementation date of 31 December 2022 by 3 months.

For environmental organisations Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Plastic Soup Foundation, Greenpeace Netherlands, Natuur & Milieu, Plastic Soup Surfer, and Stichting de Noordzee, this move does not come as a surprise. "This attempt at delay, which we have warned about on multiple occasions, shows once again that too much leeway has been given to the business community. There is an urgent need to tighten the deposit law to prevent further resistance and to guarantee a well-functioning deposit system.", says director Rob Buurman.

In particular, the cabinet's choice to let points of sale, including supermarkets, decide for themselves whether they return deposits to the consumer, caused concern for environmental organisations from the very beginning, as this gave the resisting supermarkets the freedom to frustrate the process. The House of Representatives followed this and asked about the progress of the process on several occasions. In response, both outgoing State Secretary Steven Van Weyenberg and current State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen answered that the commencement date of 31 December 2022 is legally anchored and therefore delay is not an option. State Secretary Heijnen repeated this position again on Monday.

The cabinet gave the business community a total of more than 22 months to set up the deposit system for cans. This is more than sufficient to set up a well-functioning deposit system. In other countries, the implementation period is often set at around 12 months.

The business community itself has wasted a lot of time resisting. Initially, supermarkets did not want to collect the cans, which is why the Afvalfonds previously set up an alternative plan for collecting cans outside supermarkets. Only on 9 March 2022, one day before a hearing in the House of Representatives about this plan, did the business community withdraw this plan again.

This attempt at delay is not the first and only problem surrounding the roll-out of deposits for bottles and cans in the Netherlands. The environmental movement is therefore calling on the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Vivianne Heijnen and the House of Representatives to put things in order as quickly as possible and to take back control of the deposit policy. In fact, this means that the legislation must be revised and improved.

The most important point is the introduction of a collection obligation (or a 'money-back right') for points of sale so that people can return their bottles and cans anywhere in exchange for a deposit. Further points that should be included in this revision include increasing the minimum deposit amount, introducing a deposit on beverage cartons and plastic bottles for which a deposit is not yet mandatory, and tackling illegal trade in deposit-free bottles.

In the media AfvalOnline, Afvalfonds wants to postpone deposit on cans ANP, Recycling Netwerk: Postponement of deposit is due to too much leeway FoodAgriBusiness, Disagreement over postponement of deposit on cans Trouw, Recycling Netwerk: postponement of deposit is due to too much leeway