Are bottle deposits the answer to pollution?

THE Government’s intention to introduce a deposit return scheme is long overdue. Other countries that have adopted the scheme have bottle collection rates as high as 95 per cent, while the figure for the UK is just 57 per cent. GLYN EVANS, Haverfordwest, Pembs. IN SCANDINAVIA, children have been collecting bottles since World War II and buy bicycles with the proceeds. Profitable for youngsters and a clean environment for all. LISA COLLIER, London SW7. IN GERMANY, crates of bottles are placed in ‘holes in the wall’ in supermarkets and a receipt is issued, which you take to a till for a refund. We need to introduce such a scheme as quickly as possible. RON GOODWIN, Paignton, Devon. MY RECYCLING bin is collected fortnightly and is always full. If the deposit scheme is brought in, what will happen to these collections? ALAN ARNOLD, Redhill, Surrey. BUY-BACK bottle depositories will be subsidised by the bottles that are never brought back. S. T. VAUGHAN, Birmingham. WHY all the fuss about what to do with plastic bottles in the future? Stop making them now is the answer and revert to glass. L. MOZAR LOTT, Whitehill, Hants. IF YOU hand over 10p as a deposit on a plastic bottle, when you return it, you get your 10p back. But buying replacements will mean you will always be 10p out of pocket. Who gets this money? FRANK MARCHANT, Broseley, Salop. IF YOU get only a few pence to return a bottle, most people won’t bother. But they will definitely return it if they get £1. PATRICK O’CONNOR, Havant, Hants.