The government on Sunday decided to expand the container deposit law to include a cash refund for 1.5 liter bottles and to impose the responsibility for implementing the law directly on manufacturers and importers.

The corrections to the deposit law now must be approved by the Knesset.

The deposit law was initiated in 2001 and requires giving a refund of 25 agorot for all returned beverage containers between 100 ml and 1.3 liters. Returned bottles are transferred to recycling facilities through a recycling corporation established by beverage manufacturers and importers.

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Once the corrections have been put in place, the corporation will lose its monopoly status and the manufacturers and importers will have to decide who will collect bottles on their behalf. If they fail to meet collection targets, the manufacturers and importers will have to pay a fine.

During the cabinet meeting, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra agreed to look into the possibility of changing the refund value.

"[The refund] stands at 10-25 agorot rate, and its exact sum will be determined in coordination with the infrastructure minister and will be stipulated on meeting collection goals," Ezra said. "I will of course aspire to make it [the refund] as large as possible, as an incentive for returning bottles."

The corporation, headed by Nehama Ronen, objects to the corrections and has printed ads in the media opposing the proposed expansion.

Ronen said Sunday that plan would bring the price of beverages up, increase the hassle of collecting refunds, and increase criminal involvement in bottle collection.

She also said that the government rejected the recycling corporation's proposal to implement a voluntary education program on bottle collection funded by beverage manufacturers, and has instead opted to place the burden on the public.

Taking the opposite stance, Ezra said he does not think the correction to the law would cause hundreds of millions of additional bottles to be delivered for recycling, or that the bottles would be transferred to garbage facilities and pollute the environment.

Ezra believes that placing responsibility on the manufacturers and importers will increase competition, significantly improve the service given to the public, and decrease underworld involvement in the field.

The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva V'Din) praised the government's decision. Gilad Ostrovsky of the Union's science department said, "Implementing the correction to the law would put an end to the uninhibited campaign by those opposing to the law."

"Today's decision paved the way for expanding Israel's collection and recycling infrastructure."