Fifty-five municipalities against digital deposit proposal

In a letter sent today to the three regional environmental ministers, they advocate a classic system with take-back in stores. Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia want to introduce deposits on cans and plastic bottles from 2025 to limit the amount of litter.

In a letter to the ministers of the three regions, the Deposit Coalition and 55 cities and municipalities write that they are satisfied with this, but they do not want the system to be digital. Such a system is being investigated in Flanders. “The digital system is not accessible to everyone,” says the Deposit Alliance. “Not all our fellow citizens have smartphones, banking apps and the internet,” it says.

“Extra burden”

The cities and municipalities are also concerned about the additional burden that a digital system will impose on them. Local authorities will then have to install “thousands of additional waste bins that also have to be emptied”.

In addition, home scanners should be distributed to citizens who are unfamiliar with smartphones and cell phone apps. “We are concerned that the digital deposit system will not have the desired effect on public cleanliness. We are also concerned about possible fraud and invasions of the privacy of our fellow citizens,” it said.

Producers and supermarket responsible

The signatories of the letter say that the manufacturers of the bottles and cans, and the supermarkets, should be responsible for collecting their packaging.

The cities and municipalities advocate an “efficient deposit system, which has proven its value for years in many countries, including our neighboring countries: deposit with take-back by stores”. The Deposit Alliance was founded in 2017 to campaign for deposits for plastic bottles and cans. It consists of organizations, companies, cities and municipalities.