A deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and slash the amount of waste polluting our land and seas will be introduced by the Government subject to consultation later this year.
It is estimated that consumers go through an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year, but more than three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute our streets, countryside and marine environment.
The new scheme will be introduced in England and will apply to single use drinks containers (whether plastic, glass or metal).
Similar schemes already operate in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany. A deposit return scheme sees consumers pay an up-front deposit when they buy a drink, ranging from 8p in Sweden to 22p in Germany, which is redeemed on return of the empty drink container. Possible variants of a deposit return scheme include cash rewards for returning drinks containers without an upfront deposit.