Bottle return scheme could help to reduce litter by 90 per cent

THE number of plastic bottles dumped in Scotland every day will fall by more than 30,000 when a deposit return scheme begins.

Analysis shows the dramatic impact the recycling initiative could have north of the Border.

Zero Waste Scotland will today publish figures showing it could lead to a 90 per cent reduction in litter.

This will see almost 31,000 fewer plastic bottles dropped in Scotland every day – 11million per year.

A bottle deposit scheme is to be introduced with an additional charge of 20p added to the price of drinks. This will be refunded when customers return empty plastic and glass bottles or cans.

The initiative is a major victory for the Scottish Daily Mail’s Banish The Bottles campaign.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham has pledged to introduce the scheme before the 2021 Holyrood elections.

Quango Zero Waste Scotland is developing the project, and today it is set to disclose that 12.5million plastic bottles are dumped in the country every year.

However, bosses believe that the deposit return scheme could see this number fall by 11million – equivalent to 31,000 a day.

Zero Waste Scotland chief operating officer Jim Farrell said: ‘Scotland’s deposit return scheme is going to make people think twice about dropping empty bottles. Our figures reveal just how big a difference that will make in reducing litter across Scotland.

‘From our beaches to the parks in our cities, there will be fewer bottles and cans spoiling our beautiful country.

‘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.’

It is estimated that at present only 59 per cent of glass drinks containers are recycled, falling to 53 per cent for plastic bottles, 49 per cent for aluminium cans and 46 per cent for steel cans.

But Zero Waste Scotland believes that the deposit return initiative could result in a 90 per cent reduction in litter.

Mr Farrell said: ‘Litter isn’t just an eyesore – it also pollutes our environment and seas.

‘And for every bottle littered, more plastic has to be created, generating more planet-damaging emissions.’

The scheme will apply to the majority of plastic drinks bottles as well as glass bottles and steel and aluminium cans.

John Mayhew, director of the Have You Got The Bottle? campaign, said: ‘If anything, these figures might even be an underestimate of the litter reduction benefits Scotland will see.

‘When we have visited countries that use deposits, like Norway and Estonia, we saw almost no littered cans and bottles, but also very little other litter either.

‘This system can’t come quickly enough as far as our cities, beaches and countryside are concerned.’