Industry Bodies Hail UK's New Plastic Bottle Deposit Return Scheme
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA) welcomed the government proposal, citing it as a productive step to improve the environment.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The announcement by the UK government to implement a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single-use plastic drinks bottles has been welcomed by trade industry associations. Environmentalist groups too have welcomed the proposal.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove had recently proposed a plan to implement a new scheme, whereby deposit starting from 8p up to 22p will be collected from customers at the time of purchase of single-use drinks bottles. Customers could redeem their deposit money by returning the used can or bottle for recycling. It also requires businesses to ensure that the collected bottles are effectively recycled.
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA) welcomed the government proposal, citing it as a productive step to improve the environment.
BPF called upon the government to include drinks containers made up of all materials, not only plastics, to be included in the DRS. It noted that plastic bottles currently account for only 2% of litter. Any scheme should effectively reduce all littered beverage cans and bottles, it said. The proposed DRS must be implemented in a such a way that it contributes to further enhancement of plastic drink bottles recycling rates, which currently stands at 74%.
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Meantime, MPMA stated that it will consult industry partners in bringing about necessary reforms to the Packaging Recovery Notes system that provides evidence that the collected waste packaging material has been recycled into a new product. Incidentally, aluminum beverage cans are considered to be the most recycled drinks container.
South East Essex Friends of the Earth, an organization that campaigns on local and national environmental issues, congratulated Mr. Gove on taking a major step forward in moving away from using plastic bottles. It cited the success stories of countries that already have implemented DRS. Consultations must be done as to how the scheme could be successfully implemented in the UK, it added.