Recycling : German plastic levy: Beverage cups will be charged 1.24 euros per kilo
Worth a lot of Euros in the future: Disposed plastic cups
- © AddendumOn Thursday evening, the German parlament Bundestag approved a corresponding ordinance to implement the so-called plastic levy. From next year on, plastic bags will be charged 3.80 euros per kilo, cigarette butts 8.97 euros and to-go food containers only 17.7 cents. Six months ago, the Bundestag had already passed a special levy for products made of disposable plastic to financially support cities and municipalities in cleaning streets and parks. At that time, however, the concrete sums that manufacturers would have to pay remained open. The amount of the levies was calculated by the Federal Environment Agency and is based on the costs for collection and disposal of the individual packaging and products. The money flows into a state fund that is to pay, at least in part, for the removal of discarded coffee cups or chip bags. According to government estimates, up to 436 million euros per year will go to the cities and municipalities responsible for waste disposal in this way.