Councils Oppose UK’s Plan to Introduce Plastic Bottle Deposit Return Scheme

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): UK will soon introduce a nation-wide deposit return scheme (DRS) for all single-use plastic drinks bottles. The move comes in as part of the country’s efforts to tackle growing plastic bottle waste. The implementation of the scheme, scheduled to take place later this year, is subject to consultation. However, the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) has warned that implementation of the deposit return scheme could make kerbside recycling collections uneconomic.

According to the plan proposed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, a deposit starting from 8p up to 22p will be collected from customers at the time of purchase of single-use drinks bottles. The fees will be applicable for glass and plastic bottles and steel and aluminum cans as well and would vary depending on the size of the bottle or can. Customers could collect back their deposit from a chain of reverse vending machines when they return the used can or bottle for recycling. The businesses have to ensure that the collected bottles are effectively and safely recycled.

However, LARAC has warned that the proposed scheme would divert plastic bottles out of their collection streams, thus making the entire collection scheme uneconomic. Further, it pointed out that there exist no case-specific evidences on the benefits of a DRS system to the UK. LARAC noted that local authorities offer comprehensive collection schemes for plastic bottles. The government should work in collaboration with producers to get more funds allocated towards elevation of efficiency level of the local collection scheme, which is already in place.

As per estimates, UK consumes nearly 13 billion plastic drinks bottles every year, out of which nearly 3 billion are either incinerated, sent to local landfills or end up as litter, causing damage to precious marine life.