A deposit system for PET bottles and aluminium cans: yes or no? That is the hot topic in the Czech Republic right now. Despite the fact that 75% of Czech citizens are in favour of a deposit system, the Czech Ministry of Environment is not a big fan.
Nonetheless, on 9 January 2020 in Prague, a round table discussion on this subject took place in the Houses of Parliament and Trash Hero Czech Republic were invited to contribute.
The debate was initiated two years ago by the sparkling water company, Mattoni (owned by Pepsico), who called for a study into the need for a deposit system. Research was carried out by INCIEN (Institute for Circular Economy), VŠCHT (University of Chemistry and Technologies) and Eunomia (Consultant Agency of European Committee). Their findings showed that a deposit system would be more cost-effective and have a better impact on the environment than the existing waste management system.
However, it is not only scientists, ecologists, environmental NGOs and mayors of smaller towns who would like to have a deposit system in place. Interestingly, the biggest push – as evidenced by the Mattoni study – comes from soda and beer producers themselves. Even the representative of Coca-Cola in Czech Republic came out in favour of a deposit system at the meeting.
The main opponents of a deposit system are waste management companies. They claim that there is no need for it; we can instead improve the capabilities of our existing waste management to meet EU targets of 90% plastic separation by 2035.
While the Czech Ministry of Environment is not completely opposed to a deposit system, it does not see it as a priority in the next few years. They stated they would rather make improvements to the current infrastructure, as suggested by the waste management companies, and put higher taxes on non-recyclable materials to motivate producers to use recyclable ones.
There were only two points that everybody seemingly agreed on:
1) More data and analysis is needed to understand the possible impact of either introducing the deposit system or improving existing waste separation
2) Any deposit system introduced should put a deposit not only on PET bottles and cans, but also on other packaging, e.g. TetraPak, coffee cups, batteries, with the possibility of extending to consumer electronics such as mobile phones.
The Trash Hero representative, Jan Bareš, spoke towards the end of the discussion. His main point was that regardless of the different motivations and intentions of the people at the table, we all share the same planet and should work together to keep the nature clean. Since Trash Hero Czech Republic volunteers pick up many PET bottles and cans, there is clearly space for improvement. He also stated that the ultimate goal should not be a higher rate of recycling but preventing the trash in the first place. To reach this goal, we should focus on redesigning the products to be reusable and also by educating people that packaging materials have value. The deposit system could be great tool for that.
So what conclusion did we reach? Although there was no definitive outcome of the meeting, we are encouraged that the debate is taking place and that there is an open discussion between all stakeholders. We are also encouraged by the response Trash Hero received from those present: ours was the only speech during the two hour session that got applause!
The Czech national and local government, beverage companies and waste managment companies now know that Trash Heroes are out there, they are watching and they could be a useful partner, whether providing advice, data or support. As they say, “watch this space…”
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