Heineken NV will face a criminal investigation by the Dutch public prosecutor’s office for not conforming to a recent rule that mandates beverage makers charge a deposit on cans to encourage recycling.
(Bloomberg) — Heineken NV will face a criminal investigation by the Dutch public prosecutor’s office for not conforming to a recent rule that mandates beverage makers charge a deposit on cans to encourage recycling.
A division of the public prosecutor’s office, which focuses on fraud and environmental crime, is handling the investigation. The probe was opened after a report by an environmental organization alleged that Heineken deliberately violated the deposit rule, Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad cited a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office as saying.
Beverage makers were required as of April 1 to charge a deposit of 15 euro cents on each can as the Dutch government aims to recycle about 2 billion cans a year. Consumers can then choose to get that deposit back by returning the used cans.
The prosecutor’s office didn’t comment on whether Heineken could face penalties if the investigation finds it violated the rules. A Heineken spokesman said the company is confident of a positive outcome of the investigation as it “complied with the rule,” but didn’t say when it did so.
–With assistance from Andy Hoffman.
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