Waste giant backs deposit scheme for plastic bottles

ONE of Britain’s biggest waste collection firms has backed calls for a deposit scheme for plastic bottles. Suez UK has challenged objections from councils, the packaging industry and drinks giants such as Coca-Cola.

The British boss of the French company, better known in Britain as SITA, described a deposit and r efund scheme ( DRS) as a ‘win-win’ for families, businesses and the economy.

David Palmer- Jones s ai d: ‘Investing in a UK-wide deposit scheme for plastic bottles makes not just environmental sense but, importantly, economic sense too. It puts pounds in the pockets of both households and business through reduced waste disposal costs and reduced need to buy virgin raw materials.’

Green campaigners say the move by Suez is significant because it makes clear there is an economic case f or deposits on plastic bottles and metal drinks cans.

This sort of intervention led Germany to adopt a bottle deposit scheme more than ten years ago.

Suez has contracts with 60 UK councils, providing household rubbish collections for 12million Britons as well as street cleaning.

Mr Palmer- Jones is a former chairman of the Environmental Services Association, the trade body for UK rubbish collection and recycling businesses, and is the current president of i ts European equivalent.

Last week, sporting groups wrote to Scottish Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham urging her to introduce a DRS as litter ‘ poses a direct threat’ to those enjoying the outdoors.

Their action comes in wake of the Scottish Daily Mail’s Banish the Bottles campaign, which aims to rid Scotland of the scourge of plastic and drink cans via a DRS.

Customers would pay up to 10p extra on all bottles or cans they buy but would get the money back if they returned the containers. The campaign has gained crossparty support at Holyrood.

Countries with s uccessful schemes include Germany and Sweden, where plastic bottle collection is more than 85 per cent.

It is less than 60 per cent in the UK, where every day more than 15million bottles are dumped after a single use. Mr Palmer- Jones said: ‘The country has made huge leaps in the past decade, shifting from a throw-away society to culture of reuse and recycling, but we can’t waste an opportunity to make further improvements.’

Soft drinks firms have lobbied against DRS, amid concerns it will affect their profits.