Will a Deposit Return Scheme bring positive change to your business?

Some will remember in the dim and distant past, taking bottles back to the shop or milkman to collect cash refunds. This system helped to reduce litter and encouraged sustainable lifestyles before recycling became commonplace. Unfortunately this died out in the 1980s following the introduction of cheaper materials for cans and bottles. Now the UK governments are bringing deposit return schemes (DRS) back, starting in Scotland, These aim to offer deposit refunds on beverage containers as environmental concerns flood the news.

Under the government’s Resources and Waste Strategy businesses and manufacturers will be expected to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging waste. This strategy will overhaul our waste system, potentially serving as a legal obligation for those producing packaging to foot the bill for recycling and disposal. 

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will fund the increase in recycling as industry pays higher fees for products that are harder to recycle, reuse or repair and will encourage sustainable design, subject to consultation. EPR could raise up to £1 billion per year for recycling and disposal of packaging waste, all at the cost of businesses and manufacturers. Britain fails to recycle 40% of plastic bottles because they aren’t put in the correct bin – that’s over 240,000 tonnes of bottles that businesses will be liable to pay for under new government guidelines. 

UK-wide DRS are imperative if we want to round up the millions of discarded beverage containers and reduce the amount of plastic in our environment. Current waste infrastructure on the streets is inadequate, therefore DRS is a solution to cutting costs for local authorities and reducing litter. They have already demonstrated success in Germany and Scandinavia for many years – only 1-3% of non-reusable bottles are now not returned in Germany.

Despite some limitations for businesses and manufacturers, the RWS can provide a real opportunity. Installing a DRS, for example, will boost profits from unclaimed bottle and cans as well as increasing storage capacity and reducing physical space taken up on site.

This article is taken from Veolia.co.uk – Continue reading here: https://www.veolia.co.uk/insight/will-deposit-return-scheme-bring-positive-change-your-business/