Establishing the deposit system for beverage bottles is now imperative. Already several European countries have successfully experimented with it. In order for Italy to follow suit, the Associazione Comuni Virtuosi has launched the A Buon Rendere campaign-much more than a vacuum-for a national DepositReturn System (DRS) law. Several organizations are already joining the project. (1)
119 beverage containers wasted on a per capita level
Over the course of the year, on average, each Italian improperly disposes of 119 beverage containers. 98 PET bottles, 12 glass bottles and 9 cans each, for a combined total of more than 7 billion pieces of packaging that end up in landfills or are dumped in the environment, with detrimental effects on our Mediterranean Sea as well. (2)
This waste could be cut down (-75-80%) in a short time with the simple introduction of a security deposit system. All the more necessary since the PET recycling rate, now at 58 percent, lags far behind glass (79 percent) and aluminum (69 percent). As well as the targets outlined in theSingle Use Plastics ( SUP) directive, 77 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2029.
‘For good return‘, a petition to introduce the security deposit system
‘A buon rendere – much more than a vacuum‘ is the petition at the heart of the campaign of the same name that aspires to introduce a nationwide deposit system in Italy, mandatory for producers and extended to all beverages sold in plastic bottles, glass and cans.
‘In 2021, the government included a specific amendment that would pave the way for the introduction of a deposit system in Italy as well. Now it is essential that the relevant ministries (the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Ministry of Economic Development) open a discussion table with all the actors involved by a national bail-out system, aimed at preparing the implementing decrees‘, the promoters explain.
How the security deposit system works
In aDeposit Return System (DRS ) with a mandatory return for merchants (so-called return-to-retail model), when purchasing a beverage, the consumer pays, in addition to the sale price of the product, a small, fully refundable deposit (shown as such on the receipt). The amount is returned when the bottle or can is returned at the point of sale.
For merchants, the arrangement and management of packaging collection is remunerated with a fee(handling fee) for each piece of packaging recovered. There is no shortage of precedents-even in Europe, as we have seen-and they always represent win-win solutions for users, operators and ecosystems (3,4). In two words, circular economy.
The system operator
Operation is provided by the system administrator, a nonprofit organization co-owned by beverage producers and organized distribution.
This entity organizes and finances the recovery of empty packaging from the various collection points for counting, sorting, compacting and selling the collected materials to recyclers.
No burden on the state
The operation does not involve the commitment of public resources. ‘Under Article 178-ter of the TUA, which transposes into national law the minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility introduced by Art. 8-bis of Directive 851/2018 (the so-called waste directive, ed.), the costs related to the interception and sending for recycling of packaging waste should be entirely the responsibility of producers (by way of derogation at least 80 percent) and not borne by the state or local authorities‘, explain the campaign promoters.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Joining the campaign launched by the Associazione Comuni Virtuosi are these organizations: Altroconsumo, LAV, Legambiente, LIPU, Kyoto Club, Zero Waste Italy, Marevivo, Oxfam Italy, Slow Food Italy, Touring Club Italiano, WWF, Greenpeace, Retake, Italia Nostra, Pro Natura, A Sud. Additional memberships are listed here
(2) Jason Wilcox, James Mackenzie (2021). What we waste. Reloop. https://www.reloopplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/What-We-Waste-Reloop-Report-April-2021.pdf
(3) Dario Dongo. Deposit with deposit on bottles and cans, the Lithuanian example. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 23.2.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi/deposito-con-cauzione-su-bottiglie-e-lattine-l-esempio-lituano
(4) Marta Strinati. Packaging recycling, the Italian example and new challenges. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 12/14/21 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi-e-moca/riciclo-degli-imballaggi-l-esempio-italiano-e-le-nuove-sfide
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
