ELA chairman Nehama Ronen is calling on the Ministry of the Environment to keep its promise to transfer NIS 20 million to the company to buy 300 receptacle machines.
In a letter to Minister of the Environment Shalom Simhon, Ronen wrote that ministry officials told the Knesset Economics Committee in September 2004 that they would transfer this sum from a clean-up fund. Ronen claims that the money was never transferred.
Ronen emphasized that on the basis of the Ministry of the Environment's announcement, Antitrust Authority director general Dror Strum had recommended extending the temporary permit allowing ELA (Eesuf Le'ma'an Ha'Sviva or Collecting for the Environment), the recycling corporation, to operate until June 2005. During this period, the company is to improve consumers' access to receptacle machines, which would facilitate deposit payments.
Ronen said that Strum did not approve letting ELA continue operations unless hundreds of receptacle machines for containers and deposits were deployed.
Israelis recycled 303 million beverage containers in 2004 under the Can and Bottle Deposit Law (2001). However, ELA is not in compliance with the law's stipulated targets. 55.5% of cans and bottles were recycled in 2004, compared with the 62% target. ELA will have to pay a NIS 14 million fine for missing the target.
Ronen said recycling could have been better had the Ministry of the Environment enforced the Can and Bottle Deposit Law on grocery stores, businesses, and marketing chains.
ELA claims that its offices received 600 complaints during 2004 from consumers against stores refusing to repay deposits. The complaints were forwarded to the Ministry of the Environment, but they were never translated into fines or indictments.
Two weeks ago, the Economics Committee decided not to apply the Can and Bottle Deposit Law in its current format on 1.5-liter plastic bottles. The committee decided to impose a NIS 0.03-0.10 levy per container on manufacturers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on February 3, 2005