Council of State in Netherlands postpones the aluminium can deposit scheme to April 2023

The Council of State (Netherlands) announced that the aluminium can deposit scheme will be executed by April 1, 2023, and not on January 1, 2023, as proposed earlier by Vivianne Heijnen, state secretary for the environment in the Netherlands.

As per the reports, since there won't be enough machines by the start of next year for the system to work, the top administrative court decided to delay the rollout of the deposit scheme. Additionally, stores' manual gathering would create several practical issues. Enraged environmental organisations have responded by alleging that the corporate world deliberately obstructed the new system's implementation.

The Council of State considers that this approach serves the public interest better than a gradual implementation. The importance of the system's launch going well was acknowledged by all stakeholders.

"And we are pleased that it has let the public interest prevail. The ruling provides clarity and peace of mind for everyone, especially for the consumer," said Hester Klein Lankhorst, general manager of the Afvalfonds Verpakkingen.

The complaint was brought on by the producers and importers of canned beverages and beverages and supermarkets that are members of the non-profit Stichting Afvalfonds Verpakkingen. They desired to remove many potential penalty fees. If a can deposit has yet to be received and reimbursed, they might be implemented starting on January 1.

The court of the Council of State decided to halt penalty payments for three months since this is practically impossible. Heijnen will only be permitted to impose system imports starting on April 1. Heijnen said that the can deposit mechanism will go into operation "only on December 31." The state secretary for the environment believed that manufacturers had ample time to be ready for the new law.

Recycling Network Benelux, a green group, asserted that the business community had two years to implement the system. They think the State Secretary should take all action necessary to avoid such delays. "As a rule, deposit countries set up a completely new system in one year's time. This delay is an absolute failure of the Dutch business community," added the organisation.