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 | Deposit on containers over 100mL and under 1.5L, excludes paper & cardboard containers and plastic pouches. Manufacturers required to collect and recycle all containers |
| Beverages Covered | All beverages |
| Refundable Deposits | 30 agorot |
| Fees / Taxes | None |
| Reclamation System | Return to retail |
| Unclaimed Deposits | Retained by Drink Containers Collection Corporation Ltd. |
| Program Success | 66.1% return rate in 2008 |
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.
Refillable containers are also used in Israel. 27 million of these were returned in 2008, for a collection rate of 93%.
When the deposit law was amended in 2010, several additional changes were made1. Under the previous law, retailers could refuse to accept container returns; the amended law requires "marketing chains to receive up to 50 containers per person every day." The new law set a collection target of 77% for deposit containers, and prohibits manufacturers from applying for exemption from meeting the targets. It also sets a target collection rate (effective in 2013) of 50% for containers over 1.5L, which are not subject to a deposit--if this rate is not met, the deposit will be applied to the larger containers.
Footnotes
1. Source: Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection. "2010 Amendment to Deposit Law on Beverage Containers." February 16, 2010. http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=Articals^l6122&enZone=law_deposit
All other 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
