The Netherlands tightened sustainability rules across plastic use, beverage packaging, and drink taxation in 2024. For facility managers and hospitality operators, these aren't abstract policy shifts. They change what you can serve, how you serve it, and what it costs.

The Netherlands has been one of the faster movers in the EU when it comes to implementing the Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU 2019/904) [1]. In 2024 alone, three sets of regulations took effect that directly impact how offices, hotels, event venues, and catering operations handle beverages and packaging.

The rules are part of a broader EU push to reduce plastic pollution and move toward a circular economy. But unlike the high-level policy language of CSRD and ESG reporting, these regulations have immediate, practical consequences for day-to-day operations. Below: what changed, who it affects, and what it means for your workplace or venue.

Ban on single-use cups and tableware

As of January 1, 2024, single-use cups and food containers containing plastic are banned for on-site consumption across the Netherlands [2]. The ban covers offices, sports facilities, catering companies, festivals, schools, closed events, associations, and amusement parks. These establishments must now use reusable cups and containers.

The regulation also applies to cups that are only partially plastic, including paper cups with a plastic lining. PET cups are exempt, provided the establishment registers with the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) and manages high-quality recycling with a minimum collection rate of 75% in 2024, rising to 90% by 2027 [2].

What does this mean for your business? If you're running an office kitchen, canteen, or hospitality venue, disposable cups are no longer an option for on-site use. That means either investing in a reusable cup system with washing infrastructure or switching to dispensing solutions that eliminate cups from the equation entirely. For offices with high foot traffic, this is a logistics question as much as a compliance one.

Tethered caps on beverage packaging

From July 3, 2024, all single-use plastic beverage containers up to three litres sold in the EU must have caps that remain attached to the bottle during use [1]. The regulation applies across the Netherlands and the wider EU, with the UK adopting a similar requirement.

The reasoning is straightforward: loose caps are among the most commonly found items in marine litter. Keeping them attached to the bottle ensures they enter the recycling stream together.

What does this mean for your business? If you purchase bottled beverages for your office or venue, you'll already be seeing the new designs on shelves. The operational impact is minimal for buyers, but it's a visible reminder of the direction packaging regulation is heading: toward elimination, not just redesign. For organizations tracking their environmental footprint, it's worth asking whether buying bottled drinks still makes sense when mains-fed alternatives exist.

Changes to beverage taxes

On January 1, 2024, the Dutch consumption tax (verbruiksbelasting) on non-alcoholic beverages tripled from €8.83 to €26.13 per 100 litres [3]. That's an increase of €17.30 per 100 litres, affecting juices, lemonades, syrups, and all drinks with a maximum alcohol content of 1.2%.

At the same time, the tax on mineral water was abolished entirely [3]. The policy intent is clear: steer consumption toward water and away from sugary alternatives.

What does this mean for your business? The cost of stocking soft drinks, juices, and flavored beverages in your office or venue just increased substantially. For a mid-sized office ordering several hundred litres per year, the tax increase alone adds a meaningful line to the facilities budget. Meanwhile, water, including filtered and flavored water from a tap-connected system, carries zero consumption tax. The economics have shifted.

The broader regulatory context

These three regulations don't exist in isolation. They're part of the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive (2019/904), which sets binding targets for reducing plastic waste across member states [1]. The Netherlands has consistently been among the first to transpose these directives into national law.

For larger organizations, these operational rules sit alongside the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires companies to disclose their environmental impact. Plastic consumption, waste volumes, and beverage procurement all fall within reporting scope. That means the choices you make about cups, bottles, and dispensing infrastructure show up not just in your facilities budget, but in your sustainability disclosures.

For facility managers and hospitality operators, the practical takeaway is that disposable beverage infrastructure is becoming more expensive, more regulated, and harder to justify. The direction is clear, even if the timeline varies by regulation.

2026 update: where things stand now

The 2024 rules were the starting point. Two years on, the regulatory landscape has continued to tighten.

Collection targets are climbing. The minimum recycling collection rate for businesses still using exempt single-use cups (such as PET) rose to 80% in 2025 and reaches 85% in 2026, with 90% required by 2027. From January 2026, a mandatory surcharge of €0.25 per cup or meal container applies for anything filled on-site for takeaway. The government's stated target: 40% less disposable plastic by 2026 compared to 2022 [4].

A graduated sugar tax is in the works. The Dutch cabinet is developing a differentiated consumption tax based on sugar content, replacing the current flat rate. The earliest possible introduction is 2026, though the specifics, including which products are exempt and how rates are tiered, are still being debated in parliament [5]. For facility managers, this reinforces the trend: the cost gap between sugary drinks and water will keep widening.

CSRD reporting has begun. Large Dutch companies (broadly: 250+ employees, €50M+ revenue, or €25M+ in assets) were required to start collecting sustainability data from January 2025 and file their first reports in 2026. However, the EU's Omnibus Proposal may significantly raise the threshold, potentially narrowing the scope to companies with 1,000+ employees and €450M+ turnover [6]. Even if your organization falls below the new threshold, waste and plastic consumption data are increasingly expected by investors, clients, and partners.

The direction hasn't changed since 2024. It's accelerated.

What this means for workplace and hospitality hydration

The cumulative effect of these regulations points toward one shift: centralized, reusable hydration infrastructure replaces fragmented disposable supply chains.

No single-use cups means no disposable coffee cups or water cups in the kitchen. Tethered caps signal that even bottles are being designed for their end-of-life, not convenience. And a tripled tax on sugary drinks makes water the most cost-effective option on every level.

For offices and hotels already thinking about this transition, mains-fed water dispensers that filter, chill, and flavor water on demand solve multiple compliance and cost problems at once. No cups to dispose of, no bottles to order, no consumption tax to absorb. The REFILL+ Series 2 is one example of centralized hydration infrastructure built for exactly this kind of operating environment.

For a broader look at how the move away from disposable packaging is playing out, read about practical approaches to deposit return systems and why the future of hydration is plastic-free.