In an open letter, the Reusable Alliance calls on Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze to protect the German reusable system and increase the proportion of reusable beverages again through legal measures. According to new figures from the Federal Environment Agency, the reusable quota in Germany is fell again from 43 to 41.2 per cent. This means that the reality is moving further and further away from the statutory quota of 70 per cent.
The Reusable Alliance, made up of environmental and consumer associations, reusable bottlers and beverage wholesalers, is calling on the Minister to take action. It calls for a Incentive tax of 20 cents on climate-damaging disposable plastic bottles, The levy is to be charged in addition to the one-way deposit from 1 January 2022.
Deposit also for drinks in cartons?
However, the one-way deposit would also have to be extended to fruit and vegetable juices and drinks in carton packaging. Such protective measures for the ecologically advantageous reusable system were provided for by a resolution of the Bundestag in the event that the Reusable target of 70 per cent clearly undercut will be. Politicians must therefore act now to achieve this goal they have set themselves, emphasises the Reusable Alliance.
The associations blame the drop in the reusable quota mainly on single-use beverage bottlers and large retailers - above all discounters such as Aldi and Lidl:
„The increasing listing of drinks cans and mineral water in disposable plastic bottles at dumping prices is a frontal attack on what is still the world's largest reusable system. The trial introduction of reusable bottles in some Aldi stores also turned out to be a pure PR campaign after the official end of the trial.“
Open letter from the Reusable Alliance
In the Open letter the authors warn that the current single-use policy is jeopardising Germany's environmental and climate targets. Reusable bottles make an indispensable contribution to climate protection. The consistent use of reusable bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles could up to 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually billions of items of disposable packaging can be saved and limited resources conserved. In addition, 150,000 green jobs are at risk in the reusable packaging industry, which is characterised by SMEs.
The Reusable Alliance includes Deutsche Umwelthilfe, the Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg, the Bundesverband des Deutschen Getränkefachgroßhandels, PRO MEHRWEG - Verband zur Förderung von Mehrwegverpackungen, the Verband Private Brauereien Deutschland and the Deutscher Getränke-Einzelhandel
