Israel
Israel's deposit law requires a fully refundable deposit on most single-serve beverage containers, to improve cleanliness and reduce litter; to reduce waste quantities and landfill volume; and to encourage recycling and reuse of beverage containers.
| Law Summary | Israel Deposit Law on Beverage Containers |
|---|---|
| Date Implemented | October 1, 2001 |
| Containers Covered | Over 100mL and under 1.5L, excludes paper & cardboard containers and plastic pouches |
| Beverages Covered | All beverages |
| Refundable Deposits | 25 agorot (as of October 2008, about 7 US cents) |
| Fees / Taxes | None |
| Program Success | 65% of beverage containers sold were returned in 2006. |
Details
Israel's deposit law, an environmental law passed in 1999 after years of opposition, places a 25 agorot deposit on most sizes of beverage containers at the time of purchase. The containers may be returned to any retail store (over 28 square meters) for a refund of the entire deposit.
The organization responsible for keeping the system running is Drink Containers Collection Corporation Ltd, a nonprofit organization representing beverage manufacturers and grocery chains. This corporation is facilitates the collection of used beverage containers and their transport to recycling centers by placing reverse vending machines in supermarkets and collecting the empty containers. Drink Containers Collection Corporation is funded by unclaimed deposits.
Footnotes
All information for this page was gathered from "Deposit Law on Beverage Containers" from the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection website, at http://www.sviva.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&
enDispWhat=Zone&enDispWho=law_deposit&enZone=law_deposit on October 17, 2008

