Beverage Container Deposit Law and Regulations

Deposit Law on Beverage Containers, 1999 and Amendment, 2000

This law, which came into effect in 2001, requires manufacturers, importers and retailers to collect a 25 agorot (about 5 cents) deposit on beverage containers larger than 0.1 liters and smaller than 1.5 liters, with the exception of bags or paper containers.

A label stipulating the deposit requirement must be appended to the beverage containers.

A recycling corporation was established under the law to institute the refund, bottle collection and recycling system. The corporation is required to comply with graduated targets for collecting empty beverage containers.

Deposit on Beverage Containers Regulations, 2001

These regulations relate to the following:

• Labeling instructions on beverage containers that relate to wording, amount of deposit (25 agorot), size, barcode information, and symbol of type of material – metal or plastic);
   
• Recycling obligations by manufacturers, importers and retailers (at least 90% of the returned empty bottles);
   
• Reporting forms and timetables for submission of forms by the recycling corporation and by producers or importers who are not members of the corporation;
   
• Transfer of unredeemed deposits to the Cleanliness Maintenance Fund by manufacturers or importers who are not members of the corporation.