Thursday, 16 September 2010

AN OLD IDEA REVISITED

Now it's important to be open to new ideas or even the rediscovery of old ones. Some new research for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has suggested that a 15p deposit for bottles up to half a litre and 30p for others would mean almost 90% being returned.

The CPRE has noted according to its own study that the reintroduction of such a scheme would reduce costs to the public sector by some £160m per year. Another benefit from charging a deposit for plastic and glass drinks bottles would the CPRE says potentially lead to a drastic reduction in litter.

The way it might work would be for consumers to be charged a small fee when they buy a bottle, which would be refunded when it is returned. I am old enough to remember when a deposit for returned bottles was routine and a regular feature of life.charged for drinks bottles decades ago. The deposit would be repayable when the container is dropped off at an authorised site.

The CPRE thinks that such a scheme would help to protect the landscape, reduce litter and help the government especially when it comes to moving towards a "zero waste" economy with increased recycling rates. This is well worth considering and worthy of further study in Wales.

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