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Courtesy of the Times.
Thousands of “reverse vending” machines are set to be installed in supermarkets to receive cans and bottles and refund deposits. Thérèse Coffey, the environment minister, recently visited Norway, where consumers pay a deposit of about 10p to 25p, depending on the size of the bottle. They can return the empty container by posting it into a machine that reads the barcode and issues a coupon for the deposit. If the container still contains liquid the machine takes the bottle but does not issue the deposit. Instead it is paid to the retailer, who has to remove the liquid before the bottle can be recycled.
The deposit scheme has resulted in 96 per cent of plastic drinks bottles being recycled in Norway, compared with 74 per cent in Britain. A working group appointed by the government has concluded that a deposit scheme would significantly increase recycling levels in the UK. The group, which includes Tesco and Coca-Cola European Partners, reported to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) last month that such a scheme would also reduce litter and improve the quality of material sent for recycling. The group received evidence showing that the cost of the scheme could be funded by sales of material collected for recycling, unclaimed deposits and a charge of about 0.7p per bottle paid by manufacturers.
Defra is studying deposit schemes in other countries and will seek more evidence in a public consultation this year before drawing up detailed plans for a scheme in England.
Officials are considering what obligations should be imposed on different types of retailers to collect drinks containers and return deposits. In Germany metal cans and glass and plastic bottles are subject to a 22p deposit redeemable at 135,000 locations, mainly via reverse vending machines. Retailers are obliged to return only the same amount of bottles as they sell and small shops are required to take back only the brands they sell. Defra is also considering who should retain unclaimed deposits for drinks containers that are not returned. In Denmark unredeemed deposits help to fund the scheme and a proportion of the money is donated to charity. In Ontario, Canada, unredeemed deposits are retained by drinks companies.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents large supermarkets and has campaigned against the introduction of a deposit scheme, switched its focus last night to ensuring that it is introduced smoothly and at minimum cost. Andrew Opie, the consortium’s director of food policy, wrote in The Times in October that a deposit scheme was “a sugar-rush solution that’s all fizz and no pop”. Last night he said: “We’re pleased the government has said any scheme will be based on evidence and any costs for consumers and retailers will be proportionate. “It is important they co-ordinate work with the Scottish government, who are further ahead with their planning. “The government needs to be creative in its thinking, for example using municipal sites, not just shops in town centres, to tackle littering. We also hope we can move on from single issues such as bottles to a more co-ordinated, comprehensive approach to tackling plastic packaging.”