«Breaking News» Environment Secretary to unveil bottle deposit scheme in a victory for the Mail's war on plastic

Michael Gove will next week unveil plans for a recycling revolution that includes a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles.

In a victory for the Mail's war on plastic, the Environment Secretary will publish detailed proposals designed to slash waste and boost recycling.

As well as plastic bottles, the deposit scheme is also set to cover cans and glass containers.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove will unveil plans for a recycling revolution. A deposit return scheme could come into force by 2023 if it gets the go-ahead and funding from the Treasury [File photo]

Shoppers would pay a small deposit on every purchase which would be paid back when empties are returned in a network of 'reverse vending machines'.

Official estimates suggest the likely boost to the economy from the scheme could be as high as £2billion. 

A Whitehall source said: 'The truth is we use too much plastic and don't recycle enough. An 'all in' deposit return scheme would turbo-boost recycling across the country, help to clear our streets of litter and rid our seas and oceans of the scourge of plastic waste.'

As part of its Turn the Tide on Plastic campaign, the Mail has led calls for such a scheme to stop plastic in bottles, bags and cups blighting the countryside and endangering wildlife.

Shoppers would pay a small deposit on every purchase which would be paid back when empties are returned in a network of 'reverse vending machines'. Official estimates suggest the likely boost to the economy from the scheme could be as high as £2billion [File photo]

The consultation document will set out two options for how the scheme could work.

The first would cover the vast majority of drinks containers sold in the UK, regardless of their size. A second, more limited, option known as 'on-the-go' would only cover bottles smaller than 750ml. 

Estimates suggest up to three billion plastic bottles are currently incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute Britain's streets, countryside, rivers and streams, as well as 2.7billion cans and 1.5billion glass bottles.

Similar schemes already operate across Europe, where deposits range from 5p to 22p. In countries that use them, return rates of drinks containers are vastly higher than in Britain. 

Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands recycle more than 90 per cent of all plastic containers. If it gets the go-ahead, and funding from the Treasury, the scheme could come into force by 2023. 

New proposals are also expected on curbside recycling, and measures to encourage producers to swallow more of the cost of recycling or the disposal of waste packaging.

Currently, firms that produce single-use and non-biodegradable packaging contribute just £73million towards clean-ups. The rest is shouldered by councils. 

It could mean supermarkets, food producers and drinks firms facing much higher bills to pay for recycling and could raise up to £1billion.

Estimates suggest up to three billion plastic bottles are currently incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute Britain's streets, countryside, rivers and streams, as well as 2.7billion cans and 1.5billion glass bottles [File photo]

The sum will go towards paying councils for the cost of recycling. But manufacturers will be able to recover a significant part of the cost if their packaging is successfully recycled.

Figures this week showed recycling rates have stagnated for the fifth year in a row, suggesting the UK will miss its target to recycle half of all household waste by next year.

Some 63,057 Britons have signed up to the Great British Spring Clean. Working alongside Keep Britain Tidy, the Daily Mail is urging readers to take part in this year's clean-up. 

They will take part in litter pickups from March 22 to April 23 in what should be the year's largest environmental event. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/16/environment-secretary-to-unveil-bottle-deposit-scheme-in-a-victory-for-the-mails-war-on-plastic/
Main photo article Michael Gove will next week unveil plans for a recycling revolution that includes a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles.
In a victory for the Mail’s war on plastic, the Environment Secretary will publish detailed proposals designed to slash waste and boost recycling.
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It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

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