1 / 16

The Danish Deposit and Return System

The Danish Deposit and Return System. Birgitte Ettrup Dansk- retursystem A/S. The Danish deposit and return system. Danish consumers pay a deposit on bottles or cans when they buy beer, soft drinks, mineral water, iced tea or ready-to-drink lemonade

haley-terrell
Download Presentation

The Danish Deposit and Return System

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Danish Depositand Return System Birgitte EttrupDansk- retursystem A/S

  2. The Danish deposit and return system Danish consumers pay a deposit on bottles or cans when they buy beer, soft drinks, mineral water, iced tea or ready-to-drink lemonade The deposit is refunded when the bottles or cans are returned Bottles and cans on which deposits are payable can be taken to a reverse vending machine, or returned to the original selling location Many stores will also take back bottles and cans on which no deposit is refundable, e.g. products purchased in Germany Bottles and cans on which no deposit is refundable can also be taken to a local recycling centre 87% of all one-way packaging is returned to Dansk Retursystem A/S

  3. Dansk Retursystem A/S We want to contribute to a cleaner environment We do this by: Ensuring that as many bottles and cans are returned as possible Making it as easy as possible to return bottles and cans Working to ensure that bottles and cans are recycled as much as possible

  4. Background to establishment of Dansk Retursystem A/S Dansk Retursystem A/S was established as a result of cooperation between the brewing and grocery industries. Several political decisions contributed to the decision: Free choice of packaging in Denmark for beer and carbonated soft drinks Refunds required on packaging for beer and carbonated soft drinks in the interests of the environment Political requirements on collection and recycling of one-way packaging on which deposits are payable

  5. Statutory order Statutory Order on Deposits and Collection etc. of Packaging for Beer and certain Soft Drinks – no. 634 of 19 June 2008 Came into force on 4 September 2008 128 paragraphs (in Danish) .

  6. Main requirements of the Statutory Order Dansk Retursystem A/S granted exclusive right as administrative and collection company Compulsory registration for all suppliers of products on which deposits are payable Requirements for a high returns percentage Requirements covering marking of all one-way packaging for beer, carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic soft drinks, iced tea, mineral water and ready-to-drink lemonade Requirements on EU tendering for as many operational tasks as possible Requirements on reporting of confidential information to impartial firm of accountants Option for the authorities to purchase or take over the company

  7. Dansk Retursystem A/S – organisation Owners Danish Environmental Protection Agency Board Operations Producers and importers Stores/offices/ restaurants and others Consumers

  8. Nationwide deposit and return system Consumers can collect refunds on empty bottles and cans at nearly 6,000 different locations in Denmark More than 2,800 reverse vending machines installed in 2,600 stores throughout Denmark More than 600 producers and importers have registered with Dansk Retursystem A/S

  9. Dansk Retursystem A/S Collects bottles and cans free of charge Counts all packaging and refunds the deposits paid Sorts and separates glass, PET and aluminium, and sends the materials for recycling Pays handling fee Pays a subsidy for improving efficiency in stores Carries out information campaigns

  10. Deposit and return system Collection and logistics fees Suppliers Sales outlets Dansk Retursystem A/S Handling fee Consumers

  11. One-way packaging returned In 2007 Danes returned around 345 million empty items of drinks packaging on which deposits were paid – glass bottles, plastic bottles, and aluminium cans In 2007 Dansk Retursystem A/S collected enough aluminium to produce 185 million new cans Return percentage in 2007 was 87%

  12. Dansk Retursystem A/S and the environment Dansk Retursystem A/S has installed 1,400 compactors on the premises of Denmark’s largest stores Almost half of all plastic bottles and cans are flattened at the stores Compactors reduce the transport requirement significantly

  13. Dansk Retursystem A/S collects packaging from 11,000 customers Via 11 intermediate storage facilities Counting takes place at two counting stations in Jutland and Zealand

  14. Deposit and return system is good for the environment When we collect empty bottles and cans it means: • Less rubbish, both in the bin at home and in the environment • Better use of resources – recycling of all materials • We use less oil, gas, metal • Lower energy consumption = less CO2 = less climate change

  15. Does it work? Yes. Return percentage is increasing – now 87% for one-way packaging 2008 nationwide rubbish collection. 154,400 cans collected in total – only 7,790 deposit refundable items Very few free riders

  16. Why does the system work? Refundable deposit Convenience Responsibility: I behave in an environmentally responsible way Drink products sold in Denmark without the deposit mark are liable to confiscation and fines Historical – long-standing tradition for collecting bottles in Denmark

More Related