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| ‘For some this is junk, for others food’: the shops collecting plastic waste and handing back cash | ‘For some this is junk, for others food’: the shops collecting plastic waste and handing back cash |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Ambitious bottle return scheme helps the Netherlands hit recycling targets and tackle littering | Ambitious bottle return scheme helps the Netherlands hit recycling targets and tackle littering |
| When Mariama Kamara enters the new Statiegeld return shop on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, she is on a mission. She has been tasked by her aunt, who runs a nearby restaurant, with depositing three giant blue trash bags of bottles and cans. In about seven minutes she feeds the deposit machine about 350 cans, bringing in more than €50 (£43) which will go back into her aunt’s business. “It’s a really cool idea, and so convenient,” she says. | When Mariama Kamara enters the new Statiegeld return shop on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, she is on a mission. She has been tasked by her aunt, who runs a nearby restaurant, with depositing three giant blue trash bags of bottles and cans. In about seven minutes she feeds the deposit machine about 350 cans, bringing in more than €50 (£43) which will go back into her aunt’s business. “It’s a really cool idea, and so convenient,” she says. |
| In the Netherlands, whenever consumers buy goods in cans, glass or plastic bottles, they pay a slight fee (statiegeld) that ranges from 15 cents to 25 cents depending on the size and type. This money can be reclaimed, however, when you return the container to a “reverse vending machine”, while uncollected deposits go to enlarging the scheme. | In the Netherlands, whenever consumers buy goods in cans, glass or plastic bottles, they pay a slight fee (statiegeld) that ranges from 15 cents to 25 cents depending on the size and type. This money can be reclaimed, however, when you return the container to a “reverse vending machine”, while uncollected deposits go to enlarging the scheme. |
| But the machines, which are usually located in grocery stores where they can catch foot traffic from customers, sometimes don’t work, or are not large enough. Stores will also only accept packaging from brands that they sell: for instance, Lidl won’t accept a Coca-Cola bottle because they don’t sell that brand there. And, unlike most of the other countries that have deposit return schemes, in the Netherlands there is no legal obligation for stores beyond supermarkets to have these machines. | But the machines, which are usually located in grocery stores where they can catch foot traffic from customers, sometimes don’t work, or are not large enough. Stores will also only accept packaging from brands that they sell: for instance, Lidl won’t accept a Coca-Cola bottle because they don’t sell that brand there. And, unlike most of the other countries that have deposit return schemes, in the Netherlands there is no legal obligation for stores beyond supermarkets to have these machines. |
| The Netherlands has an extremely ambitious national legal collection target set by the Dutch packaging management decree, which says that the beverage industry must recover at least 90% of all bottles and cans sold. The problem is it still has a long way to go. According to Verpact, 77% of all plastic beverage bottles and 84% of cans were returned last year – a high rate compared with many countries but still not high enough. | The Netherlands has an extremely ambitious national legal collection target set by the Dutch packaging management decree, which says that the beverage industry must recover at least 90% of all bottles and cans sold. The problem is it still has a long way to go. According to Verpact, 77% of all plastic beverage bottles and 84% of cans were returned last year – a high rate compared with many countries but still not high enough. |
| So this year, Verpact is trying something new, launching shops that are solely for returning plastic bottles and cans (glass must be disposed of elsewhere). The first return store opened in May in Rotterdam, with a bulk machine that can process up to 200 bottles and cans at once and, according to Verpact, more than a million deposit packages have been handed in since then. | So this year, Verpact is trying something new, launching shops that are solely for returning plastic bottles and cans (glass must be disposed of elsewhere). The first return store opened in May in Rotterdam, with a bulk machine that can process up to 200 bottles and cans at once and, according to Verpact, more than a million deposit packages have been handed in since then. |
| Amsterdam now houses two Statiegeld stores and, because of their central locations, they have already brought in a lot of foot traffic. Users include those looking to dispose of waste, local businesses, intrigued tourists and people who spend entire evenings collecting cans and bottles. “For some people, it’s junk, for others, it’s something to eat,” said an employee from Kier, the organisation tasked with manning the stores. | |
| Deposit return schemes aren’t unique to the Netherlands. In 1970, the Canadian province of British Columbia introduced the first mandatory system to return beer and soft-drink cans and bottles. In 1984, Sweden created its own model, becoming the first in the European region to do so. The Netherlands launched its deposit return scheme in 2006, which has expanded over the years. Seventeen countries across Europe have systems in operation, including Norway, Germany and Ireland. And because of recent EU legislation that tasks member states with a 90% collection rate for single-use plastic bottles and cans, more countries are joining the pack. | Deposit return schemes aren’t unique to the Netherlands. In 1970, the Canadian province of British Columbia introduced the first mandatory system to return beer and soft-drink cans and bottles. In 1984, Sweden created its own model, becoming the first in the European region to do so. The Netherlands launched its deposit return scheme in 2006, which has expanded over the years. Seventeen countries across Europe have systems in operation, including Norway, Germany and Ireland. And because of recent EU legislation that tasks member states with a 90% collection rate for single-use plastic bottles and cans, more countries are joining the pack. |
| Hester Klein Lankhorst, the CEO of Verpact, sees this initiative as a way to help reach the ambitious national legal collection targets: “The goals we need to reach are really high and in a short time. We have to do it as quickly as possible.” | Hester Klein Lankhorst, the CEO of Verpact, sees this initiative as a way to help reach the ambitious national legal collection targets: “The goals we need to reach are really high and in a short time. We have to do it as quickly as possible.” |
| Companies that release packaged products on the market are legally obliged to handle packaging collection and recycling, including the deposit system, says Verpact. It is the responsibility of the company, on behalf of the packaging industry, to report on an annual basis to the government. | Companies that release packaged products on the market are legally obliged to handle packaging collection and recycling, including the deposit system, says Verpact. It is the responsibility of the company, on behalf of the packaging industry, to report on an annual basis to the government. |
| The containers collected are sorted, cleaned and then mainly processed into new raw material that can be sold back to manufacturing companies. According to Verpact, recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is used in new PET bottles. In 2023, PET bottles already contained, on average, 44% recycled PET. The Netherlands also now requires that by 2025, 25% of the material of a PET bottle must be recycled material. | The containers collected are sorted, cleaned and then mainly processed into new raw material that can be sold back to manufacturing companies. According to Verpact, recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is used in new PET bottles. In 2023, PET bottles already contained, on average, 44% recycled PET. The Netherlands also now requires that by 2025, 25% of the material of a PET bottle must be recycled material. |
| Deposit return schemes are also seen as helping create a more circular economy and in some cases can help reduce litter. A study by the ministry of infrastructure and water management, the CE Delft consultancy and Utrecht University found that since the return shops opened (although they are not necessarily the only reason) the number of small plastic bottles and cans in litter decreased by 69%. | Deposit return schemes are also seen as helping create a more circular economy and in some cases can help reduce litter. A study by the ministry of infrastructure and water management, the CE Delft consultancy and Utrecht University found that since the return shops opened (although they are not necessarily the only reason) the number of small plastic bottles and cans in litter decreased by 69%. |
| But conversely, in some situations people who were gathering the bottles to raise money may empty out wastebins searching for them, making the litter situation worse. “In some cities, especially around garbage cans, there has been more litter, and it has incurred costs for cities that have to clean up that litter because they break cans, and then animals come in,” says Martin Calisto Friant of Circle Economy, an Amsterdam-based nonprofit. | But conversely, in some situations people who were gathering the bottles to raise money may empty out wastebins searching for them, making the litter situation worse. “In some cities, especially around garbage cans, there has been more litter, and it has incurred costs for cities that have to clean up that litter because they break cans, and then animals come in,” says Martin Calisto Friant of Circle Economy, an Amsterdam-based nonprofit. |
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| And the price of managing the technology and transport is significant. “It is quite an expensive system, but it really helps to lower the littering,” Lankhorst says. Finally, there are concerns over whether the financial returns – a key part of the incentive to recycle – are high enough. “There’s a low incentive, in my opinion, of a deposit value for small containers, and that I would say is one of the big weak points in the Dutch system,” says Thomas Morgenstern of Tomra, a Norwegian waste sorting company that supplies the reverse vending machines for many of the deposit return systems in the Netherlands. | And the price of managing the technology and transport is significant. “It is quite an expensive system, but it really helps to lower the littering,” Lankhorst says. Finally, there are concerns over whether the financial returns – a key part of the incentive to recycle – are high enough. “There’s a low incentive, in my opinion, of a deposit value for small containers, and that I would say is one of the big weak points in the Dutch system,” says Thomas Morgenstern of Tomra, a Norwegian waste sorting company that supplies the reverse vending machines for many of the deposit return systems in the Netherlands. |
| The low deposit doesn’t incentivise reduced consumption, which Calisto Friant sees as the main issue, while it’s also unclear whether these kinds of systems actually do anything to curb plastic production. “This could be a very important and useful kind of incentive to reduce consumption of single-use packaging, which is probably the most important thing we should do in the first place,” he says. | The low deposit doesn’t incentivise reduced consumption, which Calisto Friant sees as the main issue, while it’s also unclear whether these kinds of systems actually do anything to curb plastic production. “This could be a very important and useful kind of incentive to reduce consumption of single-use packaging, which is probably the most important thing we should do in the first place,” he says. |
| The ideal, perhaps, say Lankhorst and Verpact, would be for every store to have recycling units that worked properly. But in the meantime, the Statiegeld shops are a good stopgap measure to continue to reduce litter and reach legal targets. | The ideal, perhaps, say Lankhorst and Verpact, would be for every store to have recycling units that worked properly. But in the meantime, the Statiegeld shops are a good stopgap measure to continue to reduce litter and reach legal targets. |
| “There’s not a silver bullet,” Lankhorst says. “But altogether we can make it more easy for people to get their deposit back and throw the cans and the bottles in the right way, in the right system.” | “There’s not a silver bullet,” Lankhorst says. “But altogether we can make it more easy for people to get their deposit back and throw the cans and the bottles in the right way, in the right system.” |
| And for Kamara, it’s more user-friendly. She’s used to going to one of three supermarkets and manually inserting bottles or cans one by one – an extremely tedious task. “If I had to manually do all the work, it would hurt my back,” she says. | And for Kamara, it’s more user-friendly. She’s used to going to one of three supermarkets and manually inserting bottles or cans one by one – an extremely tedious task. “If I had to manually do all the work, it would hurt my back,” she says. |
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