International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

same order as the cost savings from using a deposit/refund. 325 Due to such
considerations, Palmer et al., Fullerton and Kinnaman, and Palmer and Walls all
argue that deposit refunds should be imposed upstream on producers rather than on
final consumers to minimize administration and transaction costs. 326
The question of administrative costs of such schemes is a focus of much debate
between supporters and opponents of such schemes, However, the debate is one
that is unfortunately – on the basis of our attempt to elicit such evidence - largely
uninformed by impartial evidence of scheme costs.
16.3 Where Has the Policy Been Applied and Why?
There are a number of jurisdictions where deposit refund schemes have been
applied. Table 16-1 shows a list of these. In the following sub-sections, we give a
flavour of the schemes which have been implemented in different countries.
16.3.1 Denmark
The “Danish Bottle Bill” was passed in 2002, and set up the Dansk Retursystem A/S
to implement and administer the deposit-refund system for beverage containers. The
following deposits apply:
299
� Beverage containers up to 1 litre: €0.13;
� Plastic containers 0.5 litre: €0.27; and
� Beverage containers > 1 litre: €0.40.
When a producer or importer sells beverages to retailers in Denmark, the deposit is
added to the price of containers.
The total deposit collected by the producers and importers is paid to Dansk
Retursystem. That deposit cost is passed onto the consumer by the retailer and then
the consumer returns the container either manually or via a reverse vending machine
to the retailer. The containers are then transported to Dansk Retursystem’s collection
centres where they are registered and counted and on the basis of this the company
pays the refund back to the retailers.
Essentially, even prior to the Danish Bottle Bill, deposit refund systems had been in
place for decades for refillable containers. Until 2002, domestically produced beer
and soft drinks were only sold in reusable glass, and plastic bottles with a deposit,
whilst sales in cans were prohibited. In 2002, the law was changed, allowing all beer
and carbonated soft drinks to be sold in one-way packaging, including metal cans. It
was this change that prompted the introduction of the Bottle Bill.
325 Frank Ackerman, Dmitri Cavander, John Stutz, and Brian Zuckerman (1995) Preliminary Analysis:
The Costs and Benefits of Bottle Bills, Draft report to U.S. EPA/Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response, Boston, Mass.: Tellus Institute.
326 D. Fullerton and T. C. Kinnemann (1995), Garbage Recycling and Illicit Burning or Dumping, Journal
of Environmental Economics and Management, 29 (1); Palmer et al (1997); Palmer and Walls (1997).
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes