Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladík has announced that the Czech government has approved a proposed amendment to the packaging law, which would establish a deposit system for PET bottles and metal cans.
The Environment Ministry has suggested a deposit of four crowns per item, with the final amount to be set by decree. The amendment, which will now be debated in parliament, aims to increase recycling rates and reduce litter in both urban and natural areas.
The proposed legislation also includes new regulations for advertising leaflets, such as requiring manufacturers to pay a recycling fee and imposing restrictions on the distribution of leaflets to uninterested recipients. According to the ministry’s explanatory report, the law would come into force on January 1, 2025, with the deposit system being implemented a year later. The EU has set a target for member states to collect 90 percent of plastic beverage bottles by 2029, a goal that the Czech Republic is currently not achieving for either plastic bottles or metal cans.
Ministry data show that the country produces around 1.8 billion PET bottles and 0.8 billion cans each year, with significant portions of these not being sorted properly: approximately one in five bottles and three in four cans. The ministry believes that the introduction of a deposit system will improve recycling rates and increase the use of recycled materials.
“Czechs are good at sorting plastic, but we still need to improve our recycling of PET bottles and cans. I think it is crucial to make sure that plastic bottles and cans are not left in nature or in urban areas,”said Hladík.
The amendment has sparked discussions among ministries, business groups and local representatives, receiving more than 700 comments during the inter-ministerial review. Concerns were expressed about the economic impact of the deposit system on businesses and municipalities.
In response, Hladík argued that without a proper collection system, municipalities would face higher costs, and citizens would end up paying more in fees. He noted that municipalities would receive 15 percent of unclaimed deposits, which amounts to an average of CZK 39 per citizen. “We are not reforming the current sorting system, but improving it to achieve better recycling results. Sorting is not the same as recycling.”Hladík explained.
Sixteen European countries have already implemented deposit systems, and several others are preparing to follow suit. The Czech Republic remains one of the last countries in Europe without such a system for PET bottles and cans, and lags behind in recycling efforts.
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