Kids Are Gonna Love This Deposit Return Scheme!
Recycling plastic bottles and drink cans is set to change under new legislation that's been announced by the government. New plans set out in a consultation response detail that, through small cash deposits placed on single-use drinks containers, people will likely be incentivised to recycle their drinks bottles and cans, reducing litter and plastic pollution. The scheme would include special machines, known as reverse vending machines, and designated sites where people can return their bottles and receive their cash back. In most cases, it would be the retailers who sell drinks covered by the scheme who would host a return point.
This is a similar scheme to what other countries offer, where a user receives a financial reward for returning bottles and cans to a specific location, often received as vouchers for a particular retailer, such as a supermarket. Every year UK consumers go through an estimated around 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion drinks cans, many of which are littered or condemned to landfill.
It was initially expected that glass bottles would also be included in this scheme; however, for whatever reason, they haven't, leading to criticism that it's a wasted opportunity to ensure more glass is recycled. The new scheme, covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is set to be introduced in 2025, following extensive work with industry to prepare for the necessary changes – including setting up infrastructure and amending labelling. It aims to ensure 85% fewer drinks containers are discarded as litter after three years of its launch. Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: We want to support people who want to do the right thing to help stop damaging plastics polluting our green spaces or floating in our oceans and rivers. That is why we are moving ahead using our powers from our landmark Environment Act to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers. This will provide a simple and effective system across the country that helps people reduce litter and recycle more efficiently, even when on the move. The UK Government will work with the Devolved Administrations and industry to press ahead with the delivery of the scheme. The response to the consultation, published today (20 January 2023), showed that 83% of respondents were in favour of the new system. International examples show that a deposit return scheme can become a simple part of daily life to make recycling easier, with recycling rates above 90% in Germany, Finland and Norway. Current recycling rates for drinks containers in the UK sit at around 70%. A target is in place to collect over 85% of returnable drinks containers once the scheme is up and running. Following the announcement, focus will now turn to bringing forward legislation and beginning the appointment process of the Deposit Management Organisation – an independent, industry-led organisation which will be established to run the scheme. The Deposit Management Organisation will set the amount for the refundable deposit. It's currently unknown exactly how the scheme will work, and if it means that drinks will become more expensive in the shops, or if the deposit return will be funded in another manner, but it's widely expected that consumers will pay a small amount, perhaps 5p or 10p more for their drink, which they would then be able to get back if they dispose of their can/bottle via a deposit return machine. I'm sure, as in the case in the USA, people who don't dispose of their bottles in the new manner and simply put them in the bin will become a new revenue stream for entrepreneurs, often kids, or those people in a severe financial crisis, (often the homeless), who will be collecting the cans and bottles and cashing them in for a way to earn some extra money, and why not, anything that's going to increase recycling rates and possibly financially help out those who take the time and effort to collect up unwanted cans and bottles sounds like a win-win situation to me!