Fewer cans ended up on the street after the deposit was entered. The number of cans in the garbage has not been this low for at least eight years, according to the latest measurements from the Rijkswaterstaat.

In a report to the House of Representatives, outgoing Minister of State for Infrastructure and Water Management Hejnen noted that this was a preliminary measurement. Additional measurements this year should show whether this is a one-time outlier or a trend.

In the second quarter of this year, after the can deposit system was implemented from April 1, the number of cans in the garbage was a third lower than the average of the previous three years. There was still a slight increase in the first quarter.

In addition, the use of plastic bottles in litter continues to decline. In the first half of this year, more than 60 percent fewer bottles were found than in the same period in 2020. This was the last year in which no advance was paid on plastic bottles.

Do not switch to a beverage carton

According to Heijnen, the number of cardboard beverage containers in the trash appears to be stable. There is no deposit for this package. “With caution there does not appear to be a shift from packaging with a deposit to packaging without a deposit,” she concludes.

In September, Zwervenator Dirk Groot, who has been measuring litter since 2016, concluded that there was indeed a shift. Since the introduction of deposits on bottles in 2021, according to Groot, more and more cartons of drinks end up on the street because a number of manufacturers want to avoid deposits with this packaging.

State Minister Heijnen concludes in the letter to Parliament that the deposits work against litter. At the same time, it wants beverage packaging manufacturers to make a greater effort to collect plastic bottles and cans.

A month ago, she expressed her dissatisfaction after it emerged that the business community collected 68 percent of plastic bottles, instead of the legally required 90 percent. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate then demanded short-term improvements from the waste fund responsible for waste collection.