INTRODUCTION OF 10P DEPOSIT SYSTEM ON PLASTIC BOTTLES (Kirklees Liberal Democrats)

Kirklees Liberal Democrats <info@kirkleeslibdems.org.uk>

INTRODUCTION OF 10P DEPOSIT SYSTEM ON PLASTIC BOTTLES

April 16, 2008 11:52 AM

Campaign to Protect Rural England

Councillor Nicola Turner (Liberal Democrat Member in Colne Valley Ward) is backing campaigners' calls for a 10p deposit system on plastic bottles to be introduced to help reduce waste, litter and environmental damage in Kirklees and across the UK. She also wants to see manufactures face up to their environmental responsibilities.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England is pushing the initiative with the Government as part of its "Stop the Drop" campaign (1). Under the proposal, 10p would be added to the cost of every item sold in a plastic bottle which people would then be able to redeem by dropping it off at a shop or collection point. The manufacturers would then make money by selling on the containers for recycling.

Cllr Turner says: "13 billion plastic bottles are disposed of in Britain each year with the average household in Kirklees being responsible for 500 of them. Some will end up being recycled but many, many, more, possibly up to 80%, will end up going in the general waste."

"The introduction of a 10p deposit system would provide people with a financial incentive to recycle their plastic bottles, reducing wastage and the amount of litter on our streets."

"It would also mean that manufacturers could no longer refuse to take responsibility for the waste their products produce at the end of the consumer chain. At the moment, as soon as a plastic bottle goes into the domestic waste stream it is gone and the tax payer foots the bill which is unfair. Under this scheme the bottle would be returned to the manufacturer who would either have to incur a loss themselves by paying for its disposal or look to make a profit by selling it for recycling. Up until now there has been no real incentive for manufactures to change the way they operate and so many haven't. But this has the potential to change that situation".

"Similar systems are already in place in South Australia, Germany and Sweden and the US there they are all successful and popular."

"The key to the success is to make sure that people can return their bottles to as many shops as possible or to one of many local collection points. What I wouldn't want to see is people getting in their cars to drop off their bottles. This would be counter productive."

"It's just a reinvention of the old deposit system we had on glass pop bottles. If it were introduced nationally I could see young people going out gathering up waste bottles to pocket the extra cash. So, getting young people actively involved in improving their local environment would just be another added benefit of this campaign".

Cllr Turner's support comes shortly after Kirklees Council committed itself to becoming the UK's first plastic bag free large urban council. A Liberal Democrat motion which won all party support on this issue was successfully passed in December 07.

"We want Kirklees to be the first zero waste authority in the UK. Schemes which draw attention to how much we waste and provide incentives for people to make real changes in their day-today lives must be introduced. People can lend their support to the campaign by visiting www.cpre.org.uk."