The Dutch County Board municipalities and Rijkswaterstaat both play an important role in the cleanup of litter. The buitengewoon or BOA) are the Dutch police and local supervisors. They fine people who throw away cans, bottles, wrappers, or other items onto the streets. Except for those aged between 12 and 16, the standard fine is 90 euros. The penalty for this case is reduced to 45 euros.
Rijkswaterstaat spent approximately 8 million euros in 2003 cleaning up litter on the main roads. The division of Rijkswaterstaat-IJsselmeergebied alone took about 900 tonnes per year of litter from the 125 kilometers of roads they manage.
The Dutch government signed a covenant with business organizations to reduce litter. These agreements are in line with producer responsibility. Producers and products that are on the market are partially responsible for the products at the waste stage. This agreement includes agreements between industry and government regarding reducing packaging waste and litter. The Department on the Environment signed, on behalf of the government at the end of 2002, a treaty ( VNG) with the Association of Dutch Municipalities and business organizations.
The Covenant on Litter has the following objectives:
- The company will make sure that litter volume drops to at least 80% by 2005 (from 50,000,000 in 2001).
- The industry must demonstrate its efforts to reduce litter by at least 2/3 (from 50,000,000 in 2001)
- The government, the VNG, and all businesses must work together to reduce litter by at least 45% by 2005, compared with 2002.
Related Products And Info: