In more and more places, deposit hunters are left with a nice pocket money by handing in bottles and cans lying around. Yet there seems to be little interest in this business model in Breda. The city was the first in the Netherlands to start an experiment with special holders around waste bins. People can put empty cans and bottles in it, after which others can hand them in. A good idea, but they are hardly used.
For some, it’s laziness. Another thinks it’s too dirty to take an empty, sticky soda can or PET bottle all the way home. Packaging still ends up on the street. Throwing it in the rubbish bin is of course always better, but the deposit should have ensured that cans and PET bottles are handed in at a vending machine.
“It was underused.”
When a deposit on PET bottles was introduced in 2021, the municipality of Breda started a trial with deposit racks around waste bins. The alderman called the idea of world improver The Happy Activist ‘brilliant’ at the time. The first ten racks were hung in Willemstraat, the busy route between Central Station and the center of the city.
The principle is simple. There are holes in the metal ring in which people can leave their empty bottle or can. Passers-by who do have the time and inclination can take out the empties and exchange them at a deposit machine. A win-win situation, you would think.
“Experiments may turn out differently than expected.”
The system has been very successful in Germany for years and many cities in the Netherlands are experimenting with it. Nevertheless, the test in Breda ‘did not go as expected’, according to a municipal spokeswoman. “It was underused. After the test in Willemstraat, it was decided not to hang the deposit racks in other places in the city.”
Why the ‘free money’ doesn’t work in Breda remains a mystery. Do passers-by not understand what the rack is for? Or are they even too lazy to put their can or bottle in that ring? “Experiments may turn out differently than expected and we are of course also open to other smart ideas that we can try out,” says the spokeswoman.
“We are waiting to see if people will use them more now that there is also a deposit on cans.”
In any case, the municipality of Breda will not give up the fight against litter. “The racks around the waste bins in Willemstraat are still hanging. We are waiting to see if people will use them more now that there is also a deposit on cans.”
Meanwhile, there are garbage cans at strategic places throughout the municipality to prevent plastic and cans from lying around. Not a first this time, but it does work. “Of course it is always better to recycle bottles and cans. We therefore advise residents and visitors to take empty returnable bottles and cans home with them or to hand them in immediately at a vending machine.”
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