Bottle and can deposit return scheme gets green light in England
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Bottle and can deposit return scheme gets green light in England
Image:Bottle deposits range from 8p to 22p in Europe
By Sanya Burgess, News Reporter
A deposit return scheme for single-use bottles is going to be introduced in England subject to consultation, the Government has confirmed.
Plastic, glass and metal containers would be included in the scheme with a goal of increasing recycling rates and slashing the amount of waste polluting the planet.
A consultation held later this year will examine the details of how such a scheme would work, but it is likely to be in place by the end of this Parliament.
"We can be in no doubt that plastic is wreaking havoc on our marine environment - killing dolphins, choking turtles and degrading our most precious habitats," the Environment Secretary Michael Gove said.
"It is absolutely vital we act now to tackle this threat and curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled," he added.
Image:Sky Ocean Rescue campaign was launched after a whale died from eating plastic
The Government says it hopes "to talk to the devolved administrations about the scope for working together on this important issue".
Similar deposit return schemes already operate in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
A deposit return scheme sees consumers pay an upfront deposit when they buy a drink, ranging from 8p in Sweden to 22p in Germany, which is redeemed on the return of the empty drink container.
Other types of schemes being considered by the UK include cash rewards for returning drinks containers without enforcing an upfront deposit.
This could be done through a network of 'reverse vending machines' where money is returned whenever a plastic or glass bottle is inserted.
Once a bottle is returned, businesses are then responsible for making sure they are effectively recycled - a move that has led to a 97% recycling rate in Germany.
Image:Huge numbers of plastic bottles wash up along British shores, including the Thames
Although the Environment Secretary's announcement was widely welcomed, some are concerned the move is a token effort.
Elena Polisano, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: "Michael Gove has a golden opportunity to introduce an effective deposit return system to help reduce the amount of plastic ending up in our environment. But for (the scheme) to work well, it can't be a token effort. It must include all plastic bottles, glass bottles and drinks cans, and be rolled out in shops all across the UK."
The announcement follows the Government's ban on plastic microbeads and the introduction of a 5p plastic bag charge.
Video:Voyage reveals plastic problem in UK waters
The bag fee has led to nine billion fewer bags being distributed in the UK.
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