April 1999

The government of Norway and a variety of environmental groups, trades unions and industry groups called for a bottle tax to be applied to all drinks sold in the European Union.

The groups hope that by taxing each bottle, companies will be forced to increase usage of reusable bottles, decreasing waste.

A Map of the Countries in Europe.  Image Credit: CIA.

A half a euro would be charged on every liter drink if the current plan passes successfully.

In addition to the bottle tax, the new plan would have to achieve some level of packaging standardization.  That way, consumers who selected larger sized drinks would have to pay a higher tax.

The European Environmental Bureau, which is leading the group advocating the new program, says that studies have shown that reusable bottles are superior to those that are discarded after single use.  The Bureau has 130 member groups in 24 countries.

However, the packaging industry is mainly against the proposed changes.  While some companies and many environmental groups are in favor of the plan, a large amount of opposition also exists.

Past action has failed to decrease the use of disposable drink packaging.  In 1985 and 1990, attempts were made to promote reusable packaging.