ALUPRO Foresees Output Shortfall of 4.7 Billion Units

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Aluminum Packaging Recycling Organization (Alupro) has released a new report that analyzes the implications of the proposed flat rate deposit report scheme (DRS). The report predicts an annual production shortfall of 4.7 billion units and possibilities of widespread plant closures in the event of UK adopting the scheme.

The report compares the environmental and economic implications of flat rate deposit fee and a variable one. The flat rate scheme would apply a fixed fee to all beverage containers. This would essentially mean that a 24-can multipack would be charged an additional £4.80, compared to 80p for a 2-litre plastic bottle. As a result, consumers would obviously opt for a larger, cheaper, but less sustainable plastic alternatives. This in turn could result in notable decline in demand for recyclable aluminum cans in the country, the report said.

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The report warns that the fixed fee model could result in 10% lower return volumes in total than a variable rate system. Also, plastic could emerge as the most widely used beverage packaging.

Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro stated that the organization is fully supportive of a well-designed DRS and that the report aims to provide real-world implications of different deposit fee options. It urged the government to take its statistics and modelling into consideration while designing the UK’s DRS.