Introducing a drinks container deposit return scheme in the UK could generate 432 million each year for charities and community initiatives, the Campaign to Protect Rural England has claimed.
The charity, known as the CPRE, published research today (March 14) which claimed that there is public support for a 10p to 15p deposit to be placed on 500ml drinks containers, which would be refunded once the bottle is returned.
Todays research builds on work carried out by the CPRE in 2009, when it claimed that a deposit return scheme could be introduced at a cost of around 84 million and help increase recycling rates and cut litter (see letsrecycle.com story).
The new research centres on a survey commissioned by CPRE and carried out by Ipsos MORI, which found that 12% of British adults would always donate their deposit to a local charity or community initiative, while 66% said they would most or some of the time.
In the report, it is assumed that a deposit return scheme would be set at an average of 15p per container and be coupled with a 90% drinks container return rate. The return rate is based on the return rates for comparable schemes already in operation across Europe.
This would mean that around 24 billion drinks containers a year would be returned in the UK, with 12% of consumers donating their 15p to charity or community initiatives.
Samantha Harding, Stop the Drop manager at CPRE, said: Sometimes the best ideas are old ideas. By introducing a modern deposit scheme, we could boost incomes for local charities and save money by reducing litter and increasing recycling. We know it works in other countries and our research suggests many people would support a UK scheme.
A proposed deposit return scheme was met with tacit support from Prime Minister David Cameron in September 2010, when he said the government would assess the huge benefits of the scheme following the publication of the CPREs Have We Got The Bottle? research (see letsrecycle.com story).
CPRE today noted that it has supplied ministers and officials with its research and claimed that over 3,000 members of the public have made submissions in support of a deposit scheme as part of the ongoing review of existing waste policy.
Unlikely
However, the CPRE announcement has been met with some unease from those in the recycling sector. Stuart Foster, project manager at plastics recycling advocacy organisation Recoup, today told letsrecycle.com: We think that probably building on an existing system than introducing a new one, but we are all waiting for the Waste Review outputs.
This echoes concerns raised by the British Retail Consortium and INCPEN the packaging sector trade body who have both previously warned that the introduction of a deposit scheme could undermine existing recycling infrastructure.
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And, one industry source, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that it was highly unlikely that the government would introduce a deposit scheme due to the costs associated with introducing a scheme. He added that the costs would not merit the slight increase in recycling rate achieved.
I suspect they [the government] wont take it on board, he said. Lots of people have their view on PRNs and whether they are effective but the cost to introduce a [deposit] scheme means I am not sure whether it is worth putting in when there are better ways to boost recycling rates.
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