CPRE urges government to include all types of aluminium cans, bottles in DRS

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has urged the Government to include drink cans and bottles in deposit return scheme (DRS). CPRE said its volunteers in the Green Clean collected a total of 11,212 cans and bottles of all shapes, sizes and materials. Of these, 35% were plastic, 50% were aluminium, 14% glass and 1% Tetra Pak.

“The data resulting from the Green Clean events will help the Government as it designs England’s ‘deposit return system’, which – if properly set up to collect every drinks can and bottle – will provide a simple solution to recycling confusion and boost recycling rates for drinks container waste to more than 90%, CPRE said.

source: www.cpre.org.uk

Samantha Harding, Litter Programme Director at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said:‘By introducing a simple deposit system the Government has a golden opportunity to end growing scepticism around current recycling methods, collect and recycle more materials than ever right here in the UK, and ensure that those who produce the packaging rightly pay the full cost of recovering the materials that they produce. But it will only work if it is universal in the types of cans and bottles it accepts.’

 ‘In recent times, there has been a noticeable shift in consumer behaviour and attitudes – people genuinely want to take responsibility for the amount of packaging used. We all want recycling to work, but our data clearly shows that current collection methods are failing.’

The Government in March 2018 promised to ‘introduce a deposit return scheme in England for single use drinks containers, subject to consultation later this year’.

CPRE said they will share the data with the Government, via its upcoming deposit return consultation, to make sure England gets the best-designed system.