Dutch gov't agrees to scrap surcharge on single-use plastic takeaway containers

The Dutch government will scrap the surcharge on single-use plastic packaging at parliament’s insistence, responsible State Secretary Chris Jansen (Infrastructure and Water Management, PVV) said in a parliamentary debate on the matter.

Consumers in the Netherlands already pay a small amount for the plastic container their fries or takeaway coffee comes in. Next year, the government wanted to implement a uniform charge of 25 cents per single-use plastic container.

This measure, which stems from European regulations, is intended to reduce plastic litter and encourage consumers to choose more sustainable alternatives. But a parliamentary majority consisting of coalition parties PVV and BBB, and opposition parties SP, DENK, and FvD, supported a proposal to scrap the single-use plastic surcharge altogether. The measure was put forward by coalition party VVD.

“Citizens are being forced to pay costs in these times when every euro counts for everyone. And that while it only leads to more rules and bureaucracy for entrepreneurs. And the environment is not served by it, so we simply should not do that,” VVD parliamentarian Martijn Buijsse said when submitting the proposal.

Jansen has now decided to follow parliament’s wishes, he said in the debate on Thursday. “You make the final decision,” he told the parliamentarians, according to RTL Nieuws.

Last week, the Plastic Soup Foundation urged the parliamentarians to keep the surcharge, arguing that it would ultimately lead to societal change. “Years ago, we had exactly the same discussion. The price increase worked very well for plastic bags. Their use has decreased by 70 percent.”

According to the Plastic Soup Foundation, Netherlands residents use around 19 million disposable packaging items per day, amounting to around 7 billion per year.