A plan to increase the recycling of plastic bottles and beverages will help to restore the pride in Britain by reducing litter, the ministers claim.
They say a deposit Return Scheme (DRS) – where a consumer pays a down payment to a drink, but it will be repaid when they return the container – means cleaner streets.
Labor has adopted laws to start the introduction of the scheme last week. After countless arrears over the years, it is expected to start in October 2027.
Environment Mary Creagh Minister told The Daily Mail: 'We want the pride back in Great Britain. We want to clean up Britain. And I think people really want to clean up their streets, their parks, their communities.
“There is a huge appetite for this, because we know that when you see an item that is littered, it can lead to flying, broader environmental crime, serious organized crime.”
The scheme already works in countries such as Ireland, which has a return of 90 percent only a few months after the introduction.
Ministers would like to compare the plans with adding costs to plastic bags – a campaign that is defended by the mail that has led to a reduction in their use of more than 98 percent.
Returning bottles to the newspaper goods was commonplace between the 1950s and 1980s in Great Britain, but was reduced when recycling was introduced.
A plastic bottle deposit in Germany. The scheme is already working in countries such as Germany and has seen a large success rate
Sprinkle pickers on the beach (stock image). A plan to increase the recycling of plastic bottles and beverages will help to restore the pride in Britain by reducing litter, ministers claim
Although the plan is still in its infancy for a drs, it is expected to follow a similar pattern as some of those who are already in operation in other countries, including in Ireland.
Retailers are expected to match a deposit amount – it is the equivalent of 15-25p in other countries – that would be added to drinks when they are purchased.
Vending machines would then be installed in supermarkets and other retailers, so that consumers could return plastic bottles or aluminum drinks.
They could then have the option to receive their repayment from their bank card, a voucher to spend in the store or to donate to a good cause.
Glass bottles are excluded from the schedule because they form a relatively low amount of nest – about three percent – and recycling rates that are already at a high level.
The DRS are introduced in Scotland at the same time as England and Wales after plans by Holyrood to introduce it were hit by delays.
Mrs Creagh, a former chairman of the Environment Committee, said: 'We know that we have enormous problems with a stream of litter to our main streets and our rivers, and a deposit return arrangement prevents litter to go to the landfill.
'It lowers the costs for the local authorities, and crucial, it protects our birds, our cherished indigenous species such as fulles and smrews, are standing in plastic bottles and are killed by dangerous plastic pollution.
Recycling organized in boxes. Returning bottles to the newspaper goods was commonplace between the 1950s and 1980s in Great Britain, but was reduced when recycling was introduced
Environment Mary Creagh Minister (photo) told The Daily Mail: 'We want the pride back in Great Britain. We want to clean up Britain. And I think people really want to clean up their streets, their parks, their communities'
“We're going to put an end to this discarded society and stop this avalanche of waste.”
The plans were originally presented by the Tories under the then environmental secretary Michael Gove, but were never determined.
Mrs. Creagh said that the industry would run the collection schedule and determine the deposit amount.
She added that she was convinced that the British people would embrace it as easily as in other countries such as Ireland, Sweden and Germany.
'As soon as money is associated with plastic bottles and aluminum drinks, we see behavioral change. We saw it with the introduction of the costs for carrier bags, “she said.
'I think that all the evidence shows that people support the schedule of the deposit return scheme extremely. The evidence from Ireland, which it has only led for 10 months, is a return of 90 percent.
“I am ambitious and hope for similar return rates here in the UK.”
She said that she not only expected supermarkets, but also smaller newspaper stores would embrace the changes because they would increase the pedestrian.
