The Slovakian government plans to change the country's deposit return system for single beverage containers

Several associations are strongly concerned about the proposed changes and are asking for them to be withdrawn.

Diana Butron

The Slovakian government wants to change the deposit return system (DRS) from an industry-run system to a state-run system. Nine associations have signed a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment, calling for an open dialogue between the Ministry and key stakeholders. The associations are advocating in favor of the current extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the minimum requirements for deposit return systems.

Particularly concerning to the organisations is that the changes may allow the Ministry of the Environment to single-handedly decide which board members stay and which ones are dismissed. In addition, as the Ministry would have control over the DRS administrator, this could put at risk the independence of the scheme.  Since the start of the scheme in 2022 the collection of single-use plastic reached over 90% in 2023. Given that these figures exceed the legal requirements, the associations don't see a reason to for the proposed changes. In addition, this changes would violate the extended producer responsibility principle and the producers might not be allowed to get involved in decisions related to the DRS system.

The nine associations signing the letter are: Europen, the Brewers of Europe and Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), European Aluminium, Metal Packaging Europe (MPE), Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE), Reloop, Soft Drinks Europe (Unesda), and the Fair Resource Foundation.