The Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee in Israel has approved the proposed packaging bill that aims to shift responsibility for recycling to manufacturers and importers over the entire lifetime of the product – including recycling its packaging.
Currently, paper, plastic bottles and glass bottles from restaurants and other establishments that are recycled under the Deposit Law are the easiest for the user to recycle.
Cans, electronics, batteries and CDs can be dropped off at some urban recycling centers but are not as accessible as the receptacles that have been set up on city streets for paper and plastic bottles.
The Packaging Law will require an entirely new system for people to dispose of their garbage.
Under the Packaging Law, residents will be provided with suitable trash cans to separate their garbage into ‘wet’ and ‘dry’.
Quotas have been set for types of trash over the next four years and the legislation will outlaw interring any sort of packaging in landfills by 2020.
According to the Environmental Protection Ministry, packaging represents about a million out of the 4 million to 5 million tons of urban waste Israelis generate per year.
The goal is to recycle at least 60% of packaging within four years, specifically to recycle at least 60% of cardboard and paper, 50% of glass, 22.5% of plastic and 12% of wood by 2014.
Several European countries adopted a packaging law over a decade ago, and some, such as Belgium, have reached recycling rates of 95%.