The problem: the target has not been met for years
Beverage producers and importers are legally required to collect 90 percent of all plastic bottles and cans. Since the introduction of deposits on small plastic bottles in 2021 and on cans in 2023, this target has not been met. As a result, over the past two years, €270 million in unclaimed deposits has remained with Verpact, the organisation responsible on behalf of the industry for the collection and recycling of packaging.
That figure becomes much more tangible when you consider that it consists of deposits of just €0.15 to €0.25 per bottle or can. Every item that is not returned can end up in the environment, slowly break down into microplastics and eventually find its way into soil, rivers and the sea.
Three interventions, preventing effective enforcement
The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT) is the regulator responsible for monitoring whether beverage producers comply with their statutory collection obligations. On several occasions, it sought to introduce measures, but each time a government official intervened:
- 2023: CDA State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen instructed the ILT not to enforce the deposit rules for plastic cordial bottles, even though the law requires these bottles to carry a deposit. Her reasoning was that, in her view, such bottles rarely end up as litter.
- June 2025: VVD Minister Sophie Hermans decided that dairy and juice bottles would temporarily not count towards the statutory collection target. This automatically increases the calculated collection rate, even though actual collection does not improve. Hermans described this as “breathing room” for producers, pending research into suitable collection methods for these types of packaging.
- September 2026: Hermans’ successor, Thierry Aartsen, became closely involved in the issue. While the ILT, in response to persistently low collection rates, demanded strong measures from the packaging industry (potentially including doubling the deposit amount) Minister Aartsen applied pressure by sending a letter stating that he expected Verpact to introduce measures without increasing the deposit.
An ILT spokesperson is clear about the impact of this political involvement: “As a result, we are less effective, with potentially adverse consequences for the environment, our living environment and safety.”
What legal experts see in this
Two legal scholars consulted by NOS point to the same pattern. Annemarie Drahmann, Professor of Administrative Law at Utrecht University, says that considerable weight appears to have been given to the interests of the packaging sector and questions whether other interests, such as the environment, were given equal consideration.
Paulien de Winter, Professor of Regulatory Enforcement at the University of Groningen, warns that a regulator cannot operate properly if a government official simply sets aside statutory requirements, and that such intervention may send the message that companies can avoid enforcement through political contacts.
Paulien de Winter, Professor of Regulatory Enforcement at the University of Groningen, warns that a regulator cannot operate properly if a government official simply sets aside statutory requirements, and that such intervention may send the message that companies can avoid enforcement through political contacts.
It is important to be precise: the documents show that politicians exerted pressure on several occasions, and legal experts interpret this pattern as an indication of strong lobbying by the packaging industry. Exactly how that lobbying took place has not been established in detail. It therefore remains an interpretation of the interventions observed, rather than a proven fact.
A law on independent regulatory oversight that does not solve the problem
Remarkably, the government is simultaneously working on a new Framework Act on Government Inspectorates (Kaderwet rijksinspecties), intended to better safeguard the independence of regulators. The legislation was prompted in part by criticism of the government’s role in gas extraction in Groningen.
According to De Winter, however, the draft legislation does not stipulate that a minister or state secretary should be prevented from intervening too readily in the work of an inspectorate. The law intended to protect independent regulatory oversight therefore still offers no guarantee against political interference in the supervision of the deposit return system.
According to De Winter, however, the draft legislation does not stipulate that a minister or state secretary should be prevented from intervening too readily in the work of an inspectorate. The law intended to protect independent regulatory oversight therefore still offers no guarantee against political interference in the supervision of the deposit return system.
The bottom line
Oversight of the deposit return system only makes sense if the regulator is actually able to enforce the rules. Every time a government official intervenes, it undermines not only the independence of the ILT but also the purpose of the legislation itself: to collect as much packaging as possible and prevent plastic from entering the environment.
Plastic Soup Foundation believes that environmental legislation should take precedence over the interests of the packaging industry. Producers have a statutory responsibility for their packaging. If collection targets are not met, effective measures must remain possible, even if the industry is unhappy with them.
What can you do? Ask your Member of Parliament to seek clarification about these repeated political interventions involving the ILT, and urge them to support a Framework Act on Government Inspectorates that explicitly prevents government officials from intervening in ongoing enforcement. Independent oversight can only exist if it is genuinely able to operate independently.
Plastic Soup Foundation believes that environmental legislation should take precedence over the interests of the packaging industry. Producers have a statutory responsibility for their packaging. If collection targets are not met, effective measures must remain possible, even if the industry is unhappy with them.
What can you do? Ask your Member of Parliament to seek clarification about these repeated political interventions involving the ILT, and urge them to support a Framework Act on Government Inspectorates that explicitly prevents government officials from intervening in ongoing enforcement. Independent oversight can only exist if it is genuinely able to operate independently.
_(2).png)
_(1).png)
