Deposits will not be introduced on plastic bottles and cans in Flanders. The Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (Christian democrat) has confirmed that measures that would impose a system under which a deposit would be charged on plastic bottles and cans has not been included in the Flemish coalition agreement. Such a system has existed for some time in some neighbouring countries such as Germany and The Netherlands.
No deposit on plastic bottles and in Flanders, new government to examine alternatives to achieve recycling goals
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Mr Brouns explains that deposits on plastic bottles have been omitted from the coalition agreement as "We are not convinced that this is a good way of going about things”. The Flemish government will examine whether there are possible alternatives to reduce litter.
In 2022 the then Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (Flemish nationalist) said that "A deposit system is inevitable”. However, during a dabate in the Flemish Parliament in March she was somewhat less convinced”
"We have run a number of pilot projects where several concerns emerged that needed further examination”, Ms Demir told the Environment Select Committee. She cited good access to places where the deposit on plastic bottles and could be recuperated and the issue of susceptibility to fraud.
Ms Demir added that she wanted to await measures in Belgium’s other 2 regions before introducing a deposit system in Flanders.
Not in the coalition agreement
The new coalition agreement makes no mention of deposits on plastic bottles and cans. The office of the new Environment Minister Jo Brouns (Christian democrat) told VRT News that "The coalition parties are not convince that this is a good way forward”.
Nevertheless, Mr Brouns’ office doesn’t rule out the introduction of a deposit system, but the government will examine alternatives before reaching a decision.
"We remain ambitious in our intent to reduce litter. Soon we will examine how we can reach this goal”.
In early March negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU member states agreed to ensure that 90% of cans and plastic bottles are recycled by 2029. In order to achieve this a deposit system would need to be introduced unless another system could be found to ensure that the goal was reached.