Deposit Return Schemes

"A simple solution to drinks container litter Litter left in our countryside, streets, parks and rivers isn’t just an eyesore – it can be extremely harmful to wildlife and nature, and it costs taxpayers millions of pounds in clean-up costs every year. Broken glass bottles and shredded cans are a huge threat to vehicle tyres, people and animals, while plastic bottles generally take hundreds of years to decompose – if at all – and we still don’t really understand the effects of microplastics. That is why CPRE feels so strongly about preventing and reducing litter – and it is something we have been campaigning on for a well over a decade.
"A key solution CPRE is campaigning for is a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). A DRS is a simple way of incentivising the recycling of drinks containers in order to stop them from ending up as litter. We had a big win in 2018 when the government announced it would look into introducing such a scheme. It looks like the scheme will be going ahead in some form, although timings are slipping, as legislation for the scheme is going into the Environment Bill. A DRS works by a small deposit – something like 20p – being added on to the price of all drinks containers, from your wine bottle to fizzy drinks can. This is then paid back upon returning the container to a designated machine or shop. Deposit systems are in place all over the world and are a key way to prevent waste, littering and increase the use of recycled content in packaging. However, as always, the devil is in the detail. We are still awaiting the scope of the system and with producers of drinks containers (those that make and profit from the sale of single-use drinks containers) continuing to lobby government for a limited system that leaves out certain types of materials or sizes, there’s a risk private profits will be put before people and our planet. We are calling for an all-in DRS which includes all sizes and materials of drinks containers. This system would not only see the biggest reductions in litter and CO2 but also create over £2 billion for the economy. An all-in scheme is clearly vital – let’s hope the government remains committed to introducing it in a timely fashion by 2023."