Deposit gives you wings

Red Bull has been the most commonly found can in litter for 5 consecutive years. Back to Sender has launched a new campaign to convince Red Bull to speak out in favour of a deposit return scheme.

Every year, around 100 to 150 million cans end up in the environment in the Netherlands. For 5 years in a row, Red Bull has had the largest share of this among all beverage producers. This is demonstrated by, among other things, research by ‘Zwerfinator’ Dirk Groot.

Playful tasks

To get Red Bull employees thinking in a fun way about the problems surrounding litter and the role of Red Bull in this, campaigners are sending a weekly playful task to the employees at the Red Bull office in Amsterdam.

Think, for example, of a crossword puzzle with questions about litter, a maze where a can has to be returned to the shop, or a spot-the-difference picture between a world with and without a deposit return scheme.

The campaign is respectful and friendly, but with a clear call: support deposits on cans. We hope that Red Bull employees will engage in discussion with each other and that the company will soon adopt a positive attitude towards a deposit return scheme.

Deposit return scheme

Deposits on cans can reduce their presence in litter by 70 to 90 per cent, CE Delft concluded in a study commissioned by the Dutch government.

Deposits thus prevent a significant amount of aluminium from being lost to litter. Because the production of new aluminium requires a great deal of energy, deposits are also interesting in the fight against climate change. Furthermore, it was recently shown that every can contains a thin plastic layer on the inside; therefore, deposits on cans also help to combat plastic pollution.

Back to Sender campaign

This action is part of the Back to Sender campaign, through which people return beverage containers they have found in litter to beverage producers and supermarkets, calling on them to speak out in favour of a deposit return scheme.

Will you join in? Read all about it on our campaign webpage.