Drinks in small bottles may disappear

On the market they say that in the next year drinks in small bottles, 0.25 and 0.33 liters, may disappear. The reason is called the new rules for the disposal of used containers.

Maxim Novikov, executive director of the Union of Soft Drinks and Mineral Water Producers, says the concept of extended producer responsibility (RPR) should come into force in 2021. It involves an increase in the rate of disposal of goods and packaging up to 100%. According to the latest version of the document, according to him, companies will not be able to recycle waste on their own and will be required to pay an environmental fee. Although earlier the Ministry of Natural Resources left them the right to choose: to dispose of waste or to pay.

Beverage manufacturers have been paying eco-fees since 2018. But today, the recycling rate for glass containers is 25%, for plastic bottles - 20%. For glass bottles with a volume of 0.25 liters, the collection amount is 2564 rubles per 1 ton, PET packaging - 3844 rubles, aluminum - 2423 rubles.

According to Maxim Novikov, companies have already estimated the amount of additional financial burden in the event of new rules. A total of 13.5 billion rubles a year will have to be spent on eco-collection. 1 liter of retail drink can rise in price by 1.5–3.5%, he noted.

He stressed that drinks are not essential goods, therefore, because of rising prices, consumers refuse them in the first place. According to the HSE, with an increase in the cost of these products by 1%, demand falls by 2%, the union recalled. If prices rise by 3.5%, demand will decline by 7%.

This may lead to a reduction in the line of such products. This means that companies will have to sacrifice small bottle formats: 0.25 liters and 0.33 liters, he said.

At the same time, the press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources noted that the mass of a glass bottle with a capacity of 0.25 l is 187.4 g and a capacity of 0.33 l is 265 g. This means that the amount of environmental tax per bottle is 12 and 17.6 kopecks , respectively. The agency led such calculations, based on current disposal standards: 25% for glass packaging. If it will be necessary to destroy up to 100% of the packaging, the amount of environmental tax per bottle with a capacity of 250 ml will increase by 36 and 52.7 kopecks, respectively.

The ministry recalled that manufacturers of glass containers will not only be payers, but also recipients of environmental collection funds. They will receive more money if they begin to actively replace primary raw materials with cullet.

For other types of containers, no calculations were made in the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Union of Manufacturers of Soft Drinks and Mineral Waters operates on data per 1 liter. According to representatives of the department, the new standards proposed by the Ministry of Natural Resources will create an additional load of 1 ruble for each liter of output. For example, eco-collection for four 0.25 liter bottles will be 48 kopecks, and for three 0.33 liter bottles - 52.8 kopecks. If the standard grows to 100%, you will additionally have to pay 1 ruble 48 kopecks and 1 ruble 59 kopecks, respectively - it is precisely these values that the cost of the bottle will increase.

Source: https://iz.ru/