A deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and slash the amount of waste polluting our land and seas will be introduced subject to consultation later this year, it was confirmed yesterday.
Hamble resident and Surfers Against Sewage Activist, Tim LeRoy said:
"I'm delighted that the government has listened to a wide cross-section of campaigners and has proposed a Bottle Deposit Return scheme. We know that positive legislation like this works - since the introduction of the 5p tax the number of plastic bags I find on Hamble's beaches has dropped radically - but discarded drinks bottles are still far too numerous.
“I'm extremely grateful to Mims Davies for her proactive support of this campaign, and I've urged her to keep up the pressure to turn this welcome proposal into a workable reality."
Eastleigh MP Mims Davies, who works as a Government Whip works alongside DEFRA, said:
“I would like to congratulate local Hamble resident and Surfers Against Sewage activist, Tim LeRoy, for the excellent and long-standing campaign that Surfers Against Sewage ran on this issue. The success of this campaign is highlighted by the fact that the Government has not only listened carefully to their proposals, but acted upon them.
“Back in 2016 Tim very kindly took me down to the shore at Hamble to talk me through the issues that our marine environment is facing, and showed me the plastic that is washing up at Hamble on a daily basis. It is thanks to the passion of people like Tim that myself and many others are so much more aware of the challenges that plastics and waste are presenting, and as a result I have been able to speak to Ministers over the benefits that a Bottle Deposit Return scheme would have in our local area.
“It is hugely rewarding to now be working alongside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on behalf of the Prime Minister, as we set-out our latest plans which will see the UK do even more to clean up and protect our environment.
“Litter and waste continues to be a blight on our landscapes, our rivers and our seas, and is putting the future of everything that relies upon those ecosystems at risk. We have already banned harmful microbeads and cut plastic bag use, and a Bottle Deposit Return scheme will be a very welcome step forward.
“There is, of course, more to do, and for my part I have been taking my pledge to pass on plastic for lent very seriously…including missing out on cake that comes in plastic packaging! Making such a pledge really does make you realise how much we use disposable plastic, and the many cases in which we really don’t need to do so.”
UK consumers go through an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year, but more than three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute our streets, countryside and marine environment.
To tackle this blight, the government has confirmed it will introduce a deposit return scheme in England for single use drinks containers (whether plastic, glass or metal), subject to consultation later this year. The consultation will look at the details of how such a scheme would work, alongside other measures to increase recycling rates. We hope to talk to the devolved administrations about the scope for working together on this important issue.
Similar schemes already operate in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany. A deposit return scheme sees consumers pay an up-front deposit when they buy a drink, ranging from 8p in Sweden to 22p in Germany, which is redeemed on return of the empty drink container. Possible variants of a deposit return scheme include cash rewards for returning drinks containers without an upfront deposit.
This is often done through a network of ‘reverse vending machines’, where you insert your plastic or glass bottle or can and the machine returns your money. 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.
The consultation will take into account views from producers, suppliers and consumers to ensure that any system introduced works across the country. The consultation will sit alongside a package of wider reforms of the current packaging waste system, which will incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products and to increase the amount of packaging they recycle.
Today’s announcement comes ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April, where member states will gather in London and agree measures to protect our oceans.
Full details can be seen here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deposit-return-scheme-in-fight-against-plastic