823 Million Extra Plastic Bottles under Proposed Deposit Return Scheme ¨C Alupro

As part of research released by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation 2,000 UK adults were asked to imagine there was a 20p deposit on every can or bottle of any size, as proposed in Scotland. This would mean consumers face paying an upfront deposit of GBP 4.80 on top of the purchase price of a 24-can multi pack compared with a deposit of 80p for four large plastic bottles containing the same amount of liquid. When faced with this choice, two thirds of those currently buying cans in multipacks would be likely to switch to the plastic bottles. Even if the deposit was 10p, half (51%) said they would still be likely to choose the plastic bottles over the multipack of cans.

The government has recently signaled that it favours an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme. This follows plans in Scotland to implement a deposit return scheme in 2021, where plastic, glass or metal drinks containers[4] of any size will have the same deposit attached, likely to be 20p. Alupro, whose aim is to maximise the amount of aluminium packaging being recycled in the UK, is warning that attaching the same deposit fee to all sizes of container will lead consumers to opt for larger plastic bottles, having consequences for the environment and encouraging the purchase of larger portion sizes.

Consumers will, of course, be able to recoup any deposit they pay by taking their empty containers to a designated collection point – most likely a supermarket or local shop – but the survey revealed that one in five people (19%) would still end up using their recycling bin at home, which would leave them perpetually out of pocket. Alupro is also concerned that some of those who can least afford to lose a deposit will be those most likely to struggle with returning their drinks containers – 22% of those surveyed said it would be difficult to regularly take their cans and bottles to a collection point.

Copyright and Exemption Declaration :¢ÙAll articles, pictures and videos that are marked with "China Aluminum Network" on this website are copyright and belong to China Aluminium Network (www.gjtscc.com). When transshipment, any media, website or individual must list the source from "China Aluminium Network (www.gjtscc.com)". We seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÚArticles that marked as copy from others are for transferring more information to readers, do not represent or endorse their opinions or accuracy and reliability. When other media, website or individuals copy from our website, must keep the source. Anyone that changes the articles' sources will hold the responsibilities for copyright and law problems. We also seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÛIf any articles copied by our website concern the copyright and other problems, please contact us within one week.