More pollution in Amsterdam as people search bins for cans, bottles to claim deposit

Amsterdam is facing more pollution since people can get a deposit on small plastic bottles and cans, according to Parool. People are tearing open bin bags or tipping over water bins at stations and in the city, looking to earn extra cash with discarded bottles and cans.

The city authorities don't consider digging in the bins a problem, but torn open bags and tipped bins cause a lot of nuisance, the municipality, NS, the GVB, and several cleaning companies told Parool. A municipal spokesperson said that people caught breaking locks to open waste bins or causing extra pollution will be fined.

"It's like mopping with the tap open," a spokesperson for NS told Parool. "Our cleaners work hard to keep the stations tidy. But people tear up garbage bags and leave everything on the floor."

NS has installed deposit machines at major train stations in the Netherlands to discourage people from digging through the bins. There are three machines at Amsterdam Central Station.

The municipality recently changed the locks on the waste bins in Amsterdam city center to make them harder to open. It also launched a trial with "donation racks" where people who don't want to return their bottles or cans for the deposit can leave them for someone else.