(BMO7006) APPLIED BUSINESS PROJECT

GROUP ASSESSMENT 1

IMPACT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF DEPOSIT RETURN

SYSTEMS AND COMBINED ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES
IN THE NETHERLANDS

Submitted to: Evi Lanasier

Submitted by:

Pramod KC (s4665646)

Sukhmani kaur (s8094534)

Sailesh Pathak (s4676430)

Tommoy Mahmud (s8093628)

Due date: 3 March 2024

Submitted date: 3 March 2024

Executive Summery (Need to include)

Table of Contents

1. Research Background

2. Research Questions

3. Literature Review
4. References

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Executive Background:
Netherlands has recently unveiled its new DRS system which encompasses the metallic cans and
has also raised tax on single-use commodities as an effort to boost recycling rates and help with
ecological sustainability as their effort of circular economy. The new system went online in 2023
and has shown favorable results in the beginning. The research will look to answer the main
question which is how exactly has it affected the ecological sustainability, how has the system
been able to shift the consumer behavior towards sustainability, and how effective is the
combined effort when compared to just a sole effort?

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Background:
Ecological sustainability has been an issue that has been talked about and debated for a very long
time. The main issue associated with ecological sustainability is how one can make use of the
same resources for a long amount of time, and preserve what is available. Recycling comprises
various initiatives following which one can reuse the garbage being disposed of to create new
materials and products effectively promoting ecological sustainability (Mwanza, 2021). A
government might try a whole set of initiatives to get its people to recycle effectively and help
towards ecological sustainability for the future. One such initiative is regarded as DRS or a
deposit refund system. It consists of a method that incorporates an additional charge on
commodity consumption and a reimbursement whenever the goods or their container are sent
back for reclamation. The system has been shown to get the desired results of ecological
sustainability in regions where it has been implemented. Some have viewed the system to be
unnecessary due to the high cost associated with the implementation and sustainability of the
system nationwide, while others believe that it is the right step moving forward.

Although there have been studies associated with the DRS or deposit refund system that have
been active in many nations worldwide, it lacks substantial backing regarding the studies that
compare the effects it has on consumer habits, especially when coupled with other alternatives
(Konstantoglou et al., 2023). Taking this idea as a basis for our study we decided to look into the
new system that has been recently released or unveiled by the Dutch government. With the Dutch
government deciding to include metallic containers as well in the system and a new tax on
disposable cups, along with the other initiatives being promoted in the nation, there needs to be a
proper study to understand its influence on consumer habits. This research will aim to tackle the
question associated with the viability of these initiatives and their impact on consumer habits,
along with quantitative information regarding the impact it has had. We have seen the initial
study suggesting a boost in recycling numbers and a move regarding the handling of reusable
commodities, but there still needs to be a deep understanding of what effects it has and how it
can be quantified. Another substantial reason behind the research is to understand the effect that
DRS and other initiatives have in fostering a long-lasting habitual change. By narrowing the
research area to just the Netherlands, we will be analyzing the effects that a single plan has
against the impact of combined plans and understand how it shall help consumers move towards

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sustainability, effectively choosing the best out of those, which might prove helpful to
policymakers as well (Chukwurah, Nduba and Obinna, 2022).

Research Questions & Objectives:

The research will look to answer some questions to bolster further the relevancy and structure of
the research being conducted. The following are the main research questions that shall be
answered during the course of this research.

1. How has the inclusion of more container varieties in the Dutch Deposit Return System
impacted the utilization of reusable beverage containers in comparison to before the
expansion?
2. Has the expansion of suitable containers for deposit returns encouraged consumers to
choose reusable containers over those requiring deposits, or has it mainly improved
recycling rates?
3. How impactful is the Netherlands' comprehensive strategy, which integrates the DRS,
throwaway cup tax, and promotion of reusables, in promoting the shift towards reusable
drinking containers when compared to using single measures?
4. Are there specific components of the Netherlands' environmental policy measures that are
notably successful or need additional enhancement to promote sustainable consumption
practices?

These shall help guide the objectives which will be fulfilled during the research. Following are
the objectives of this specific research on the topic of “Impact and Effectiveness of Deposit
Return Systems and Combined Environmental Measures in the Netherlands.”

The study aims to conduct an in-depth examination regarding the influence as well as the
performance regarding paired sustainability actions within Holland, with an emphasis on current
legislation and projects that are focused on encouraging environmentally friendly buying habits
and garbage handling procedures. Particularly, this investigation intends to tackle numerous
crucial scientific goals. To begin, it seeks to investigate the degree whereby the introduction of
new vessel variations within the new initiative has influenced the use of recyclable drinking
vessels, evaluating acceptance statistics preceding and following the enlargement to determine
all significant changes in customer habits. Furthermore, the study aims to look into the

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complicated implications caused by the broadened initiative upon customer options, specifically
when the existence of additional package varieties for drop gains has mainly led to higher
utilization of reusable packaging or mainly led to higher recovering levels for disposable vessels.
The objective of this research is to offer information regarding the successful outcome of this
extension to advance environmentally conscious behavior and garbage control targets by
examining client tastes and reprocessing patterns. It will also answer the issue relating to the
effectiveness of a single initiative when compared to initiatives that have been coupled with one
another. Especially in the case of the Netherlands, we will try to answer how the new system
which has DRS, taxation, and promotion of reusable containers has influenced the spending
habits of the consumer. Understanding it will help us answer the research question which has
been posed at the beginning of the research (Cleland, Dixon and Kilvington, 2019). Finally, it
will look at the new initiative in-depth and help us understand it effectiveness and shortcomings.
The project aims to offer reliable suggestions for legislators throughout Holland on how to
maximize the creation and execution of ecological regulations, with the goal of improving
ecological and garbage control techniques whilst encouraging favorable buying habits
modification. The objective of this research remains to help develop successful green initiatives
throughout Holland and around the world by conducting an in-depth examination of regulatory
achievements and community implications. It will do so by going in-depth at the new legislative
and understanding how it can be modified and what it has done right that can be used in
subsequent policies implemented in the country as well as outside the nation as well.

Literature review:
RQ1: The government of the Netherlands decided to make reforms to their DRS or deposit
refund system, from only being inclusive to plastic bottles to now encompassing the various
metallic containers that are thrown out once consumed. This came into effect after the Dutch
government found that the metal cans being disposed of in the open went up by 27% leading to a
need for new initiatives which would help battle it (Hissink, 2023). The system has been in place
since 2006 when it was only viable for large plastic bottles, but following the massive influx of
small plastic bottles, it was then modified to include small bottles in 2021 and now metal cans
will also be eligible starting from 2023 to help curb the effects of waste disposal on the
environment. Another crucial legislation is no free single-use plastics for delivery and other
purposes, the manufacturers will have to charge a certain amount to those individuals, which is
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planned so that they can remove the whole single-use plastic from the market altogether (Merkx,
2023).

RQ 2: Preliminary data suggests an increase in recycling rates and a shift towards reusable
containers since the expansion of the Deposit Return System (DRS) and the introduction of the
disposable cup tax. The results have clearly shown that the new system has been effective in
boosting the recycling rates of wastes which had low recycling rates when the project first began
(Linderhof et al., 2019). Garbage such as metallic cans have seen a boost in recycling rates
owing to the new DRS system that has recently been implemented. But the sole use of the new
system will not be able to provide the desired results, according to the notion that, marketing is
also crucial should the government want to reap the best benefits from the new initiative aimed at
boosting the use of reusable alternatives to single-use commodities and containers.

RQ 3: According to Smith et al. (2023), while deposit return systems have shown promise in
incentivizing reusable container use, there is still a need for relevant information to understand
the manner in which it has affected or molded the habits of the consumer particularly when
coupled with other sustainability initiatives within the nation. All the research that has been
conducted on the topic of the deposit refund system and its effectiveness has been focused on a
singular initiative that being the deposit refund system itself, there is some missing information
on the effects of the new taxation that has been implemented. Some research conducted on a
similar topic around Europe was able to show that the consumer base within the nation has
always taken to the system positively and has massively influenced the recycling initiatives that
the country has undertaken (Garaus et al., 2023).

RQ 4: In the Netherlands, the issue regarding waste management has been a hot topic for a very
long time. The Netherlands adopts a waste hierarchy to properly distinguish and recycle the
various waste materials that is generated within the nation, but it is also reliant on the locals and
enterprises (Zhang et al., 2022). As per the assessment that had been done on various
environmental policies that are current and active within the borders of the Netherlands, there
seems to be a drastic change in their politics associated with consumption.

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References
Chukwurah, D., Nduba, O. and Obinna, M. (2022) ‘The Role of Impact Evaluation on Policy
Implementation in Nigeria’, 4, pp. 135–140.

Cleland, J., Dixon, K. and Kilvington, D. (2019) ‘Creating Your Online Research Question’, in,
pp. 8–37. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367809300-2.

Garaus, M. et al. (2023) ‘Anthropomorphism as a Differentiation Strategy for Standardized

Reusable Glass Containers’, Sustainability, 14, p. 9473. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159473.

Hissink, R. (2023) ‘Tomorrow the Netherlands expands their deposit return scheme to include
beverage cans’, TOMRA [Preprint]. Available at:
https://www.tomra.com/en/reverse-vending/media-center/news/2023/netherlands-expands-
deposit-return-scheme.

Konstantoglou, A. et al. (2023) ‘Accessing Consumer Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the

Deposit Refund System’, 15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129429.

Linderhof, V. et al. (2019) ‘Effectiveness of deposit-refund systems for household waste in the
Netherlands: Applying a partial equilibrium model’, Journal of Environmental Management,
232, pp. 842–850. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.102.

Merkx, M. (2023) ‘VAT consequences of the ban on single use plastic packaging’, BDO
Netherlands [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.bdo.nl/en-gb/insights/vat-consequences-of-the-
ban-on-single-use-plastic-packaging.

Mwanza, B. (2021) ‘Introduction to Recycling’, in Recent Developments in Plastic Recycling,

pp. 1–13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3627-1_1.

Zhang, C. et al. (2022) ‘An overview of the waste hierarchy framework for analyzing the
circularity in construction and demolition waste management in Europe’, Science of The Total
Environment, 803, p. 149892. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149892.

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