The battle against the bottles: Israel extends law on plastic containers

The Knesset’s Economics Committee ruled Dec. 1 for the extension of the 2001 Bottle Deposit Law also to apply to large plastic bottles of 1.5 liters or more — a decision hailed by environmentalists. This means that starting in December, consumers will pay a deposit fee for large plastic bottles, and will get that fee back when they return the bottles to the supermarket. Until now, the deposit mechanism was implemented only to small plastic bottles.

Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said after the meeting, "We are sharpening the equation that makes big bottle manufacturers and businesses responsible for the pollution they produce. Thanks to the Deposit Law, we will lead the path to clean public spaces and lower the cost of living for consumers, which will result in a direct profit of about 60 million Israeli shekels [$19 million] for consumers. We see these big bottles [dumped] in nature reserves, streams and open spaces. As of Dec. 1, 2021, the situation will change."

The battle until the Dec. 1 decision was very long. Israel Union for Environmental Defense — Adam Teva V’Din — has been championing the campaign for two decades now. The group explains that the original Bottle Deposit Law was implemented only on small bottles, often consumed in restaurants or at work, and less at home. In 2010, the Knesset advanced an amendment to that law to include family-size bottles, but offered a grace period of several years before the amendment would go into effect.

In fact, the Knesset put in place an automatic mechanism. The beverage companies were invited to collect large bottles voluntarily. They had until 2016 to show that they were able to collect at least 55% of all large plastic bottles purchased annually. Failure to reach this goal should have automatically launched the amendment, requiring the supermarkets to collect the bottles and pay back the deposits.