The packaging industry will launch a lottery next Monday to encourage people to return more deposit-bearing cans and bottles. About one thousand collection points outside supermarkets will participate. These locations pay out deposits via the Tikkie app. For every 15 cents of deposit returned, participants receive one digital lottery ticket. Verpact, the organisation responsible for collection, announced that players can win cash prizes of up to €400.
Financial incentives for recycling
The campaign lasts ten weeks and is open to adults over 18. Verpact will award a total of €100,000 in prize money during this period. This reward system serves a specific purpose. Verpact promised to create these incentives to avoid a penalty from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport -ILT). The regulator believes the industry currently collects too few containers.
Missing national targets
The government sets a clear goal: the industry must collect 90 per cent of all cans and bottles. Verpact represents the business community and failed to reach this target last year. Preliminary figures show that the industry collected 85 to 87 per cent of cans. For bottles, the rate was lower, sitting between 83 and 85 per cent.
Future requirements and expansion
A national reward system must eventually provide a permanent financial boost for recycling. Verpact has until October to install similar lottery systems at deposit machines inside supermarkets. This plan acts as an alternative to an ILT proposal. The ILT suggested raising the deposit by 15 cents per bottle, but the packaging industry opposes that price hike.
The ILT also demands more collection points. Two years ago, the regulator ordered Verpact to set up at least 5,400 extra locations by 1 January 2027. An ILT spokesperson confirmed that Verpact is still at risk of a fine. While the lottery meets the first of four required measures, the threat of a penalty remains active.
@ anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
