Stricter covenant for litter
Litter has not been on the policy agenda for long. In the second packaging covenant (VROM, 1997), the government and the packaging industry stated their intention of reducing the amount of litter. Under the third packaging covenant (VROM, 2002), there is even a separate sub-convenant for litter.
Litter in the second packaging covenant
The second packaging covenant contained a 'soft' provision about litter. There were no objectives or sanctions on non-compliance with the agreement.
Litter in the third packaging covenant
The third packaging covenant includes a separate sub-covenant, with a specific monitoring protocol, for combating litter. Agreement has been reached about reducing the amount of bottles and cans in litter by 80% by 2005. The agreement between the government and the business sector is now backed up by a sanction for the failure to achieve the objective. If the number of bottles and cans has not been reduced by two thirds by 1 January 2004, a system of returnable deposits will be introduced. This 'big stick' has resulted in a stricter objective and the probability that the covenant will succeed is now much greater.
