From Saturday we also have to pay a deposit for cans of drinks. Good for the environment, but entrepreneur Eefje Schuermans is fed up with it. She sells cheap soda cans in the border village of Baarle-Nassau and mainly has customers from Belgium. But there is no deposit on cans there yet, so she fears that the Belgians will soon stay away.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” says Eefje. “My shop is two meters from the border and ninety percent of my customers are Belgians. They don’t have to pay a deposit there. Get the whole EU right and wait a while.”
“Some people want to keep the cans now, but in the summer it starts to smell.”
Eefje now asks 12 euros for a tray of 24 cans. There is also a deposit of 3.60 euros. “Then they have to drive up and down to get that money back and they might as well buy it there in the supermarket,” she says.
“Some have already said that they would like to keep the cans now, but in the summer it starts to smell and you get vermin. They’re not going to do that.”
Born in Tilburg, she has been living in Belgium for sixteen years. She started her tin shop five years ago. She bought too much for a family party and when she tried to sell the rest on Facebook, it turned out to be a gap in the market. She buys cans from abroad, which allows her to keep the price low.
“As long as I can still work for myself, I want to keep it up.”
Over the past few days, Eefje has massively purchased extra cans without a deposit logo, because these can still be sold after April 1. When they run out, she has to believe it too. “Eight pallets, I don’t have more space. But as long as I want to keep it up.”
Belgium wants to introduce a deposit on cans from 2025, but that takes too long for Eefje. “There is a rush for cans without a deposit logo, so the wholesaler will soon be empty. Then I can no longer sell cheap cans. Then I have to quit my company and I have to look for another job with a boss.”