Recycling fee for cars
The recycling fee is a one-off amount that is added to the purchase price of a new passenger car or light commercial vehicle. From 1 January 2023, this fee has been set at €22,50 (including VAT). The money that is collected goes towards responsible and high-value car recycling.
The recycling fee is payable on all cars that are registered in the Netherlands. In addition to new cars, this now includes all cars that are imported from outside the Netherlands and then registered in the Netherlands for the first time.
Who has to pay the recycling fee?
When someone buys a new car, the importer collects the recycling fee when the car is first registered. When someone applies for a registration number for a parallel-import new or used car, the applicant has to pay the recycling fee through the RDW, the governmental body responsible for the registration of motorised vehicles in the Netherlands. The paid-in recycling fees are then transferred to Stichting Auto en Recycling, of which ARN is a part.
What happens to the recycling fees?
The recycling fees enable ARN, along with its more-than 300 partners in the recycling chain, to recycle end-of-life vehicles to a high standard. Thanks to the efforts of car-dismantling companies, shredder companies and recycling companies, a recycling performance of more than 98 per cent has been realised in recent years.
Making the most of it, together
To bring consumers and professionals up to speed on changes to the recycling fee, in 2021 the campaign “Samen maken we er iets moois van“ (Making the most of it, together) was launched. In addition to ARN and the RDW, the RAI Vereniging, BOVAG, FOCWA and Stiba are also partners in this campaign. Science journalist and presenter Anna Gimbrère and presenter Rob Kamphues are campaign ambassadors.
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