15 cent deposit on water and soft drinks officially launched in Netherlands

The Netherlands officially introduced a deposit return scheme for plastic soft drink- and water bottles. From Thursday, purchasers will be charged an additional 15 cents for small bottles that can later be returned to all major supermarkets and highway gas stations, among other locations, for their 15 cents back.

The fee was not added to all bottles right away. Bottles with a new Statiegeld logo indicating they can be exchanged for a refund were gradually introduced to the market in June. From July 1, all bottles are required to have the new logo.

In April 2020, the State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management announced the deposit on the small bottles, in order to reduce the amount of litter. Every year, 900 million small and 600 million large plastic bottles with soft drinks and water are sold in the Netherlands

A deposit scheme on cans will also be introduced at the end of 2022.

This law is one of many that will take effect in the Netherlands from July 1. Others include a telecommunications law that will limit telemarketing calls, an increase in minimum wage, and VAT on cheap online purchases from outside the European Union.