Copenhagen puts pant holders on rubbish bins

Last year we wasted 166 million kroner on unclaimed PANT fees, this new initiative aims to stop that

Pia Marsh

Jun 10, 2015

We all know the situation. You’re traipsing around town, drink in hand, and can’t be bothered to wander into a supermarket to dispose of your can using the pant refund system. So, you make a poor environmental decision and just throw it in the bin.

From today, however, Copenhagen Municipality is starting a new initiative aimed at separating pant reclaims from the rest of the city’s rubbish.

Copenhagen is already good at using bins. In fact, so much so that last year, there was approximately 166 million kroner in unclaimed pant fees.

Thanks to this new initiative, which has been developed by KBHpant in co-operation with the municipality, this should no longer be an issue.

Pant holders will be fitted on selected bins at three test sites around Halmtorvet, Sønder Boulevard and the Central Station in the hope that locals and tourists moving around the city with a drink in their hand will place the empty vessels in the pant holders instead of simply in the trash.

Pant an all round success
The pant system charges a deposit on bottles and cans (normally 1-3kr), which it then returns when they are brought back.

“Pant holders instil hugely positive changes using very simple measures,” the deputy mayor for technical and environmental issues, Morten Kabell, told Politiken.

“It provides a higher degree of waste sorting and recycling, thus being good for the environment, keeping the city clean, and all the while making life a little easier for some of our disadvantaged citizens who rely on pant as an important source of their of income. It creates a little more dignity all round.”