packaging
Extended compulsory deposit from January 1st – what’s the point?
Deutsche Umwelthilfe has described the German deposit system, which will be expanded from next year, as a success. Photo: Lino Mirgeler / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The bottle and can deposit has been around for almost 20 years. From January 2022, further drinks are to be topped with the 25-cent surcharge. A system that has proven itself?
Carbonated means with a deposit. Without carbonic acid means without. So far it has been with many fruit and vegetable juices that are in plastic bottles in supermarkets. But it shouldn’t stay that way.
Because the deposit obligation will be extended from January 1st. In the future, all single-use plastic bottles and beverage cans, regardless of their content, should be part of the deposit system. The stores have half a year to adjust to the new features. Until then, they are still allowed to sell bottles that are actually subject to a deposit, even without a deposit. There are also exceptions, for example for milk and mixed milk beverages: the mandatory deposit will only apply from 2024.
The Federal Environment Ministry, citing figures from the Society for Packaging Market Research (GVM), expects a beverage volume of around 1.7 billion liters, which will now also be included in the deposit system – cans included. For comparison: according to the GVM surveys, drinks that are already subject to a deposit had a consumption of around 33 billion liters in 2019.
Several exceptions
Drinks such as wine, sparkling wine and spirits in glass bottles will continue to be excluded from this group. For these there are already well-functioning collection and recycling systems, writes a spokesman to justify the dpa request. The inclusion of “this packaging in the deposit system would involve a high level of organizational effort, more bureaucracy and only minor ecological effects”. Beverage cartons also remain without a deposit.
Despite all the rules and exceptions, the question arises again and again: How much added value does the deposit system actually bring? A look at neighboring France shows that there is another way. There is no deposit in the supermarket anywhere, but a lot of plastic.
For the managing director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Jürgen Resch, this is clearly the more environmentally harmful system. In France there is “no financial incentive for consumers to sensibly recycle the packaging using this system,” Resch told the German press agency. “Unlike in Germany, it makes no economic difference there, whether you leave the plastic bottle in the park or take it home with you.”
Started 20 years ago
Resch describes the German deposit model for one-way bottles and cans, which was launched almost 20 years ago on January 1, 2003, as a “successful model”. It has proven itself in the fight against the littering of the landscape. The Ministry of the Environment also sees great advantages. Thanks to the deposit, a “very efficient collection system has been established,” says a spokesman.
However, there is still a need for action with reusable packaging. “We will probably miss the desired 70 percent target,” says the legally enshrined efforts to establish a reusable share of 70 percent in Germany. Currently, the proportion of beverages in bottles that keep coming into circulation is around 42 percent. Far too little, say environmental groups for years.
«Essential» against mountains of rubbish
The Federal Environment Agency considers reusable to be “essential” in order to reduce the mountains of waste in the environment. The obligation to deposit alone is not enough, says environmental aid boss Resch. He demands an additional fee on one-way drinks of at least 20 cents in order to then invest the money in reusable systems.
A proposal that the Ministry of the Environment sees “very critical”, as the spokesman further explains. “Especially with low-priced beverages, a charge of 20 cents could double the final price for consumers”. It is also “difficult” to determine a tax level that is “suitable for all beverage segments”.
The German Retail Association (HDE) already sees additional “challenges for retailers”, as stated in a statement on the new rules. Among other things, the association warns of a “temporary deterioration in the quality of recycled materials”. For example, the plastic juice bottles that have now been added and which have “barrier layers that are still harmful to recycling today” could impair the quality of the recycled material.
In the coming year at the latest, it will become clear whether the worries are justified. Basically, the following applies: Even without carbon dioxide means with a deposit.