On almost every drink bottle or plastic wrapper you can find a Green Dot sign: a circle with two swirling green arrows inside. The logo represents the system of waste separation in yellow bins and blue bags, run by ‘Green Dot’ organisations. These organisations ensure the recycling of all our used packaging.

BRUSSELS / BERLIN. – However, Green Dot organisations across Europe have been opposing national and European environmental legislation aimed to give more responsibility to the industry in combating plastic litter, like deposit return on plastic bottles.

Together with German journalist Benedict Wermter I have investigated Green Dots across Europe for more than a year. Their investigation reveals how the powerful Green Dots work in networks on national and international level to maintain their income, ensure low costs for the industries and to blame citizens for littering. Overall the Green Dot organisations have installed a monopoly in most countries, in which they sometimes operate opaque and distort competition.

We have spoken to science and industry and have obtained several internal documents. Their insights to the Green Dot’s business is published in collaboration Correctiv (DE), Apache (BE), Médor (BE) and EUobserver (EU).

With the support of Journalismfund.eu and IJ4EU.

Photo: Karolina Grabowska (Pexels)

Read the articles here:

• The story of the EU’s plastic packaging conflict of interests – EUobserver, 24/02/2021
• Hoe Fost Plus zijn monopoliepositie inzet tegen milieumaatregelen – Apache, 24/02/2021
• Faut-il jeter Fost Plus à la poubelle ? – Médor, 25/02/2021
• Alles außer Grün: Wie der Grüne Punkt gegen den Umweltschutz der EU kämpft – Correctiv, 12/03/2021