Cafe chain’s 10p-a-bottle plastic battle
A PLASTIC bottle deposit scheme, the first in the UK, is being introduced by Pret A Manger.
Customers will be charged 10p extra for plastic bottles. They get a refund if they bring it back for recycling.
A pilot scheme in Brighton will be extended nationally if it is successful.
In Germany and Norway, which have bottle deposit schemes, more than 90% of bottles are returned.
Clive Schlee, Pret UK chief executive, said: “It will take time to eliminate unnecessary plastic, but I hope this initiative will bring that day forward.”
Some 5.5 billion plastic bottles a year, 43%, are not recycled in the UK.