Michael Gove has said that he wants the UK government to implement a bottle deposit refund system “as soon as possible”. But what does this mean for the environment and also the economy?
Well, the UK has fallen to 10th in the European Recycling Table, which shows we can clearly do a lot more to recycle effectively. Whereas in Germany they are number 1, and this may be partly due to their deposit refund system, as when it was first implemented, 98.5% of consumers were returning their used bottles. This has removed 1 to 2 billion one way containers from Germany’s streets and bins. To me, this shows this system can work if implemented efficiently, and make a huge difference.
Another reason why i believe this could work is the success of the 5p plastic bag charge within the UK itself. Plastic bag use has been cut by ~85% which shows people don’t want to waste money even if its such a small amount. This opinion would most likely be the same when it comes to littering, as some people will see it as throwing money away.
This system would also have economic benefit, saving councils ~£35 million every year and individual authorities could potentially save between £60,000 and £500,000.
Deposit refund schemes are a tried and tested way of dramatically increasing recycling rates while reducing plastic bottle and other container pollution on our beaches, in our streets and across the countryside. This report now clearly shows that introducing a DRS for England would also benefit local economies and communities, saving councils money that could be redirected to vital frontline services. All the evidence points to the unrivalled benefits of introducing DRS for England as soon as possible. Good for the environment, people and the economy.
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage
After researching this, I decided to carry out my own survey, [ https://www.surveymonkey.com/collect/?sm=zEBeOKqO1O6RZmmchXzUDoHbb24TpW7VoW5TVgDfDD5nrP5enPOErgLvTONYAC9g ] in which 75.56% of the participants involved said they would be more willing to make the effort to recycle if they received money for it, however only 19.57% had heard of a deposit refund system. If it was to be implemented in the UK, people would have to be informed about it and be told about the benefits for everyone.
That’s it for this post, feel free to contact me on my contact page or on my Instagram @mydreamsivebeenliving if you have any questions or ideas, and I’ll be making updates on there about what is happening with the system being implemented in the UK :).