It's many happy returns for bottle recycling of bygone era

Published Date: 27 July 2008
By Eddie Barnes
Political Editor

IT WILL be based on a devastating combination of cash and nostalgia. Consumers may once again able to take back their empty bottles to the shops where they bought them in return for a refund.
Scottish ministers will today unveil plans to bring back the old system whereby shoppers would be asked to return everything from bottles to cans to the place where they purchased them in a bid to increase rates of recycling.Barr, the maker of Irn-Bru, is thought to be the only producer which still operates the practice, offering a small financial reward for anyone who returns their empty bottles. Earlier this month, the firm raised the reward from 20p to 30p to encourage more returns.But ministers are now to consult on whether to make it compulsory for all containers to ensure that a higher percentage of goods are recycled. The moves will be unveiled as part of a major new strategy designed to cut back on household waste and to slash the amount of rubbish which ends up on Scotland's landfill sites every year.Scotland on Sunday understands controversial plans to ban so-called Bogof (buy-one-get-one-free) deals, and to charge a levy for disposable goods to encourage the purchase of "sustainable" products instead, were removed at a late stage, amid fears from ministers they could trigger fury from already hard-pressed shoppers.The plans were being considered because Bogof deals are thought to add to the country's waste mountain because so many buyers end up throwing produce away. Similar proposals floated by Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier this month were met with outrage by consumer groups even though a report by the Cabinet Office said cheap supermarket deals were a central cause of food waste.Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead will focus instead on how to boost recycling. His consultation paper will consider plans to make 'deposit and return' schemes compulsory, as well as looking at moves to introduce 'reverse vending' machines which are capable of giving shoppers money back when they return containers.Lochhead said: "In Scotland, we estimate currently around 30-40% of glass bottles are recycled and around 35% of household plastic bottles are recycled, using bottle banks and kerbside collections."While these figures are undoubtedly an improvement on where we once were, there is still more we can do. "A fresh look at deposit and return schemes, including hi-tech 'reverse vending machines' are a real possibility and could double the number of bottles recycled in Scotland. They could also be used for other drinks containers, as well as food tins and aluminium trays from takeaways."Lochhead said he was encouraged by the example of T in the Park this summer when revellers at the music festival were offered 10p a glass if they returned it to where they had purchased their drinks. Barr Soft Drinks cleans every returned bottle for re-use. Spokesman Steven Downham said: "Already, seven out of 10 of all bottles we produce come back to us but by raising the deposit price we wanted to encourage more people to bring their bottles back and highlight the wider benefits of choosing glass."It's a great scheme for our customers and for the public but more than that, it's good for the environment too."Fiona Moriarty, of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said they were keen to help with anything to improve the environment but "remain to be convinced that everything in this package will be of environmental benefit".She said: "We fully support the Scottish Government's overall aim to protect the environment. However to achieve that it is imperative that the Government works with businesses so that we fully understand the impact they will have."Dr Dan Barlow, WWF Scotland's head of policy, said the idea of deposit and return was proven to work.He said: "Deposit and return systems which encourage refilling and recycling of cans and bottles have been shown to work very successfully elsewhere. We would support the introduction of a deposit return system in Scotland."Reducing the amount of waste we produce coupled to achieving much higher levels of recycling are essential if Scotland is to achieve its zero waste ambition."