Would a nationwide bottle return scheme work for the UK?

The Enviroment Secretary Michael Gove wants to give people extra incentive to recycle and is urging the next Prime Minister to implement a comprehensive bottle return scheme.

But he faces continued opposition from the retail sector, who believe the plan will be too expensive.

[LabRat]

This is commen in Norway. Probably over 30 years now.

[fahrunsnachhause]

Lived in Germany for 6 years and it’s completely standard there and works great. Pfand means everyone returns and recycled and even things dropped in the street are picked up by people and handed in. I didn’t mind the upfront cost of like 25cent as it was a nice little amount off my next shop.

[hockeybyulf]

Its 2019 UK, get it now. BR, Sweden.

[DJUNGELSKG]

Meanwhile in the u.s.: *ERROR 404 Recycle exe. Not found.

[michaelnc]

And all the recycled rubbish all ends up in some third world country dumped👍

[ElshadKarbasi]

I used to live in Sweden in the early 2000s and they had this in almost every supermarket

[KingCharles]

surely having to drive to the shop to bin your bottles will just increase pollution

[SkyEcho]

Great idea but tell me ... WHEN did we first KNOW plastic wasn't biodegradable! 😶

[jensdamm]

Please. Just look at other EUROPEAN countries.the UK is still part of the EU. Sweden. Germany. The Netherlands. Sigh

[edwardlangley]

It’s 2019. This is common practice in most other developed countries. Get with the times UK.

[waqasahmad]

4 years on and still no signs of deposit return scheme its a shame uk has fallen well behind

[MrVectra]

I have lived in Norway for 19 years and these machines have been around the whole 19 years i have been here.The UK needs to seek advice on this recycling process from Scandinavian country's because it is obvious the UK can not do it alone, it also benefits those who are poverty stricken by given them the means to collect bottles and cans which others decide to litter with!.Its a win win, come on UK wake up!!

[_robustus_]

Whatever the most eco-friendly packaging is, companies should be taxed substantially for not using it. Sure companies will pass the cost to consumers but somebody has to pay to fix the problem and at least people would be incentivized to rethink their consumerism.

[Durrpadil]

Intelligent. I would like to see more options like this in the United States. Although there are sometimes recycling options available to us, they aren't always available.

[straightreject]

It used to be the norm in the past. Money back bottles won't be a new thing. A good thing YES.

[MikeStarKaraokeUK]

The problem is the 10p off shopping is not going to get anyone doing it at that price. Also the machine should take all plastic bottles from any store. It's better than the wildlife getting stuck In it. Should pay in cash like 20p a bottle.

[Taco]

They should give us like 10 cents instead of 5 in my state. 5 cents is nothing

[MikeStarKaraokeUK]

Or do a weekly competition and who ever recycles the most plastic wins £100 cash prize in the store. Make it Worth the time and effort. And save the wildlife 🐎🐖🦏🐪🐑🐕🐇🐩🐍🐿️

[mortuaryartist]

It all ends up on a slow boat to China anyway, and then dumped in the ocean, as does most other recycling.

[chrisspencer]

Another utterly pointless scheme. Countries where recycling is most effective have one of two thing in common.
1 cheap labour to sort items
2 simplified recycling policies
Bottle return makes sense for glass. Where direct reuse can be done.
Plastic needs to standardise formulation and enforce simple to follow rules for collection.