Anglicky
Denmark promises support for returnable bottles
The Danish government is to support brewers and retailers
efforts to sort reusable beer and soft drinks bottles by
requiring all traders and importers to make financial
contributions, environment minister Svend Auken said
yesterday. Mr Auken was briefing journalists on the plans
as Danish parliamentary proceedings restarted after the
summer break. The government is to put forward a new
regulation late this year or early next, government sources
confirmed today.
Danish law requires all beer and soft drinks packaging to be
refillable, but sorting costs have soared since the
mid-1990s due to increasing diversity of approved bottle
designs sparked largely by the introduction of PET plastic
alongside glass.
In May, brewers and retailers agreed to create a new joint
Danish Return System designed to reduce costs by introducing
automatic bottle sorting machines. Mr Aukens pledge is
designed to assist this initiative by clamping down on "free
rider" firms that benefit from the system without paying
their share.
What has excited Danish newspapers far more, however, is
that the governments move is being seen as preparation for
an eventual acceptance of one-way drinks packaging such as
metal cans, which could also be sorted for recycling under
the new system. Denmarks long-standing "can ban" is
currently being contested by the European Commission in the
European Court of Justice (ENDS Daily 21 April).
Government sources denied any shift of position on the can
ban today, and said that Denmark continued to believe that
refillable systems were better for the environment. But
they accepted that the possibility of a European Court
condemnation had played a part in the decision. "The
minister believes it is sensible for the market to prepare
itself... its the best way out of a bad position," an
official told ENDS Daily today.
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