Hundreds of municipalities in Belgium and the Netherlands call for deposits

Already 168 Flemish municipalities and 102 Flemish organisations are calling for the Flemish government to introduce a deposit on all plastic bottles and cans. The issue is on the agenda of the super ministerial council of Friday 20 July.

In recent months, the number of partners in the Dutch-Belgian Deposit Alliance (Statiegeldalliantie) grew to 751, of which 270 are Flemish. The initiative is also expanding into French-speaking Belgium.

Among others, the City of Ronse and the municipalities of Overijse, Lede, Haaltert and Lille have joined the initiative in recent months, demonstrating the broad support for the introduction of a deposit system. The Province of West Flanders, 4 Flemish water managers, creative agency bigtrees and the non-profit organisation Grote Routepaden also joined.

Make Flanders clean

The abundance of plastic and can litter bothers everyone, pollutes the environment and causes injuries to cows. Cleaning up the waste costs municipalities and Flemish taxpayers 155 million euros every year.

The Deposit Alliance's request to the Flemish, Brussels and Walloon regional governments is clear: "Introduce a deposit on all plastic bottles and cans this year". It is an effective measure to combat litter and clean up our environment. Currently, there is already a deposit on glass beer bottles and some wine bottles in Belgium.

The expansion to all plastic bottles and cans is an integral part of the Waste Plan of Minister of Environment Joke Schauvliege (CD&V). The decision is scheduled on the agenda of the Flemish government cabinet meeting on Friday 20 July.

Furthermore, the De Standaard Solidarity Award selected the entry of the Deposit Alliance and creative agency bigtrees as one of the twenty organisations to receive a free page of advertising space. The Deposit Alliance's entry was published in the quality newspaper on Tuesday.

L’Alliance de la Consigne

In French-speaking Belgium as well, the population is asking for the introduction of a deposit, as a recent GfK survey showed. 82 per cent of Belgians want a deposit system to be introduced. The Deposit Alliance therefore calls on French-speaking organisations and municipalities from Brussels and Wallonia to join the Alliance de la Consigne. The website is now also accessible in French at alliance-consigne.org. The Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles has already joined the initiative, which also asks the Brussels and Walloon governments to introduce deposits in Belgium. Brussels State Secretary Bianca Debaets (CD&V) is also advocating for the introduction of a deposit system.

In the Netherlands, almost all municipalities and provinces are asking for an expansion of the deposit system

In the Netherlands, the demand to expand the deposit system to all plastic bottles and cans is massive. No fewer than 328 municipalities, 86 per cent of all Dutch municipalities, are urging the Rutte III government to expand deposits to all plastic bottles and cans. In addition, 8 of the 12 Dutch provinces and 20 of the 21 water boards have joined the Deposit Alliance.

Since the Rutte III government decided in early March to grant the industry a two-year extension, dozens of new municipalities and organisations have signed up with the Deposit Alliance. New members join every week. Almere decided to join last week. Together, all participating Dutch municipalities now represent 15.6 million residents.

More info

The list of all participating municipalities, cities, provinces and administrative levels: https://statiegeldalliantie.org/2017/11/de-partners-van-de-statiegeldalliantie/

The list of all participating companies and organisations: https://statiegeldalliantie.org/2017/11/de-partners-van-de-statiegeldalliantie-organisaties-en-bedrijven/

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