Ban on cans lifted
There is a famous quotation in Shakespeare’s drama Hamlet, which includes the words "rotten" and "Denmark" and something to this effect the European Commission must have thought when it started legal action against Denmark 20 years ago to force the government to legalise the use of cans. Denmark was the only EU country which had banned the use of aluminium cans for ecological reasons. Beverages were sold in glass and plastic bottles only, with refillable glass bottles for beer accounting for 92%. The ban was lifted in January and retailers were asked to charge a deposit of US$0.18 per can. This was to ensure that consumers return the cans to the shops.
No one expects the beer market to change dramatically as a consequence of this. In 2000, beer consumption was 5.4 m hl..
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