BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – In the future, manufacturers will have to pay a tax of around 1.24 euros per kilo for beverage cups made of single-use plastic. On Thursday evening, the Bundestag approved a corresponding regulation to implement the so-called plastic levy. This means that from next year plastic bags will cost 3.80 euros per kilo, cigarette butts will cost 8.97 euros, and to-go food containers will only cost 17.7 cents.
Six months ago, the Bundestag passed a special levy on products made from single-use plastic in order to financially support cities and municipalities in cleaning streets and parks. At that time, however, the specific sums that the manufacturers would have to pay were still unclear. The amount of the taxes was calculated by the Federal Environment Agency and is based on the costs of collecting and disposing of the individual packaging and products.
The money goes into a state fund that is intended to at least partially pay for the disposal of discarded coffee cups or bags of chips. According to government estimates, up to 436 million euros per year will go to the cities and municipalities responsible for waste disposal./ax/DP/he