Stores accused of ‘watering down’ bottle deposit scheme
It seems to me that so many good ideas founder once we allow the private sector to get involved. Surely social enterprise is the way forward with schemes like this. This story tells us:
Environmentalists say large and small drinks containers alike should carry a catch-all deposit of more than 15p.
But retailers say small “on-the-go” bottles cause most litter, so large bottles should not be subject to a deposit as they are mostly recycled at home.
Ministers are still considering whether to exempt bigger plastic containers from the plans.
How do bottle recycling schemes work?
The UK proposal, part of the Resources and Waste Strategy, is likely to copy one of the schemes adopted in other countries.
In Norway for instance, the shopper pays a deposit on every bottle – the equivalent of 10p to 25p depending on size.
The consumer drinks the product, then posts the empty bottle into a machine which produces a coupon to return the deposit.
This has led to recycling rates of 97% – whereas in the UK just over half of plastic bottles are recycled.