The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Deposit return scheme could save streets from thousands of bottles
Tens of thousands fewer plastic bottles will be dropped in Scotland every day due to the deposit return scheme, Zero Waste Scotland has predicted.
A 20p deposit is being introduced for single-use drinks bottles and cans by the Scottish Government and could reduce the number of discarded plastic bottles by more than 11 million each year.
Zero Waste Scotland – a Government-funded campaign group – forecast that 90% of littered plastic bottles will vanish from Scotland’s streets and public spaces when the scheme is introduced later this year.
A “staggering” 694 million plastic bottles are used in Scotland each year, with government figures suggesting almost 12.5m of them are dropped as litter.
The 90% target of reducing littered bottles would result in almost 31,000 plastic bottles not being discarded across Scotland each day, including 3,500 in Glasgow and 1,000 in the Western Isles.
Jill Farrell, Zero Waste Scotland’s chief operating officer, said: “Scotland’s deposit return scheme is going to make people think twice about dropping their empty bottles.
“Our new figures reveal just how big a difference that will make in reducing litter all across Scotland.
“From our beaches to the parks in our cities, there will be fewer bottles and cans spoiling our beautiful country.”
She added: “Scotland’s deposit return scheme will give people a 20p incentive to do the right thing with their empty bottles and cans – take them back for recycling, rather than risk them ending up on our streets or in our rivers.”
Under the scheme, people will pay a 20p deposit when buying drinks in single-use plastic or glass bottles and aluminium or steel cans, which will be refunded when they are returned to shops for recycling.
The scheme will operate throughout Scotland for all types of drinks and all containers between 50ml and three litres, but excluding pubs, restaurants and cafés selling drinks to be consumed on site.