GERMANY – Milk processors in Germany are to take the government to court over the threat of a deposit being charged on every carton of milk sold.

The compulsory deposit, which would be around 0.02 euro per carton, is part of strict planned environmental protection laws. The government plans to charge the deposit in sectors where the proportion of containers recycled falls below 20%.

Just 18.9% of drinks cartons and sachets were recycled in the first quarter of 2002. However, the government must wait for a year to ensure that recycling rates stay below the threshold. Even then, it would be a further six months before the deposit becomes law.

In the worst scenario, the used cartons and sachets would have to be returned by consumers to point of sale with retailers then repaying deposits.

Traders’ organisation Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Handelsverb