| Law Name | Deposit on Beverage Containers Law |
| Date Implemented | Enacted 1999, implemented 10/1/2001 (last updated 2010) [1] |
| Containers Covered |
All containers between 100mL and 5L, made of the following materials:
|
| Beverages Excluded |
|
| Refundable Deposit |
0.3 ILS |
| Fees and Taxes |
Handling fee: 0.05 ILS, paid by system operator to retail only. [2] |
| Reclamation System |
Return to retail and designated recycling centers/depots. |
| Unclaimed Deposits |
Retained by system operators ELA Recycling Corporation and Asofta Recycling Corporation. |
| Program Success |
2018 System Results:
2015 System Results:
|
Details
Israel's bottle deposit law passed in 1999 and was implemented in October 2001 after initially being scheduled to begin in April 2000. [3] Initially, only bottles between 100mL and 1.5L were allowed to be returned. The program has since been amended to include 1.5L plastic beverage bottles, and will include containers up to 5L by October 2021. [4]
Collection and recycling are left up to manufacturers and importers; as such, the system operator is ELA Recycling Corporation, a private non-profit organization owned by members of Israel's beverage industry, while the administrator is Asofta Recycling Corporation, private company representing "more than 120 Israeli beverage importers and producers" that regulates and oversees the program. [5]
Currently, there are two main methods that consumers may return their containers: return to supermarkets/shops, or through approved recycling depots. There are also a few reverse vending machines (RVMs), but collection remains mostly manual. Although there is no limit on returns to recycling depots, supermarkets are only obligated to take back up to 50 containers per day.
Footnotes
[1] "Global Deposit Book 2020: An Overview of Deposit Systems for One-Way Beverage Containers." Reloop Inc. December 15, 2020.
[2] Ibid.
[3] "Long Dance of Legislation' Ends With Bottle-recycling Bill." Moskowitz, Ira. Haaretz Daily Newspaper. October 5, 2001.
[4] "Environment minister extends deposit law to bottles of up to 5 liters." Surkes, Sue. The Times of Israel. October 18, 2020.
[5] See footnote 1.
Last Updated on May 19, 2023.