Want to keep up to date on Welsh politics? Sign up and get political news sent straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Pressure is growing on the Welsh Government to follow in the footsteps of England and Scotland and introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers.

UK Government Environment Minister Michael Gove has said that a deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans would be introduced in England, subject to consultation.

Some countries already have deposit return schemes which charge an upfront deposit on drinks containers, ranging from 8p in Sweden to 22p in Germany, that is redeemed when the empty bottle or can is returned.

The consultation will look at how such a scheme could work in England, alongside other measures to increase recycling rates, which have stalled in recent years.

Options for a scheme could include providing cash rewards for returning bottles and cans without an upfront deposit, through “reverse vending machines” where consumers insert the container and get coins in return.

The Scottish Government has already said it will go ahead with a deposit return scheme.

In Wales, environmental issues are devolved and in the wake of today’s announcement the Welsh Government have now faced calls to act quickly.

(Image: Will Rose/Greenpeace/PA Wire)

Last September, Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths accepted more needed to be done and commissioned a study to look at ways of cutting waste, including a deposit return scheme.

She said: “I have commissioned a study to assess possible interventions to increase waste prevention, increase recycling and reduce land and marine based litter.

“Producer responsibility schemes such as the current schemes in place in the UK will be included in the research. Deposit Return Schemes will also be included.”

However environmentalists have been disappointed in the lack of action since then and have called for the study to be published.

(Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) (Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Gill Bell from the Marine Conservation Society said: “We are disappointed that the Welsh Government is still to make a commitment to a deposit return scheme for Wales.

“We’re waiting on Hannah Blythyn [Environment Minister] to react to a report on extended producer responsibility [the study commissioned to look at cutting waste].

“We want Wales to follow in the footsteps of Scotland and England in introducing a deposit return scheme for both plastic bottles, metal cans and glass bottles”.

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns also called on the Welsh Government to act.

The Welsh Government said it was working to see how a UK-wide scheme could work but said the nation already has high recycling levels and any return scheme would have to factor that in.

A spokesman said: “Recycling levels in Wales are some of the best in the world. To build on this success we are looking at the best ways to reduce waste and litter and recycle more and are already working with Defra on how a UK wide scheme might work.”

He added that work continues on a standalone plastics tax for Wales which was one of four tax ideas put forward in October 2017.

(Image: Gayle Marsh)

Earlier this month, Ms Bell told an Assembly committee that Wales has the potential to be a world leader in tackling the use of single-use plastics but that they had to move quicker.

The charity submitted a petition to the Assembly almost a year ago which called for a deposit return scheme where people receive money back if they return used drinks containers.

The charity’s Gill Bell told that committee: “The time is now.”

Conservative AM David Melding said the UK announcement was “game changing”.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Melding said: “This announcement is an incredibly bold move by the UK Government, and follows a long list of measures that have been introduced by the Conservatives to improve the environmental well-being of the United Kingdom.

“The UK uses around 13 billion plastic bottles each year, and only 7.5 billion of those get recycled. That means that around 5.5 billion plastic bottles are either landfilled, littered or incinerated, and that’s not including the impact of glass bottles or metal cans.

“We know that deposit return schemes have hugely successful return rates in countries like Norway, Finland and Australia, so it is welcome news that Conservatives in England will be leading the way to end the scourge of waste in our environment.

“This is a game-changing announcement and the Welsh Labour Government needs to urgently review its approach on the issue, so that we can start tackling excessive waste in Wales once and for all”.

Speaking about the UK announcement, Mr Gove said: “We can be in no doubt that plastic is wreaking havoc on our marine environment - killing dolphins, choking turtles and degrading our most precious habitats.

“It is absolutely vital we act now to tackle this threat and curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled.

“We have already banned harmful microbeads and cut plastic bag use, and now we want to take action on plastic bottles to help clean up our oceans.”

(Image: Richard Swingler)

The Government said it would only take forward options from the consultation which demonstrate they offer clear benefits, are resistant to fraud, and where the costs to businesses, consumers and the taxpayer are “proportionate”.

And officials said they wanted to talk to the devolved administrations about the scope for working together on the issue.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said: “In Wales we’re fortunate to have beautiful countryside and beaches. The UK Government is serious about reducing the amount of plastic waste that ends up in our rivers and oceans, which is why we’re introducing a bottle deposit return scheme in England to increase recycling rates and cut waste.

“Today’s announcement marks another step forward in the fight against plastic waste, and I would call on the Welsh Government to consider the benefits of the scheme and explore the potential of introducing the same measures in Wales.

A poll for waste and recycling company Suez found that 74% of people would be likely to return their plastic drinks bottles or cans if they had to pay a 10p deposit, which they could then reclaim when they returned them for recycling.

Suez has called for a deposit return scheme which only targets plastic bottles and aluminium cans that are smaller than 700ml, such as soft drinks cans and bottles of water bought to be drunk on the go.

Responding to the announcement by Mr Gove, the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s (CPRE) litter programme director Samantha Harding described it as a “brilliant and significant decision”.

“I am thrilled that we will finally see the many benefits a deposit scheme will bring to England, not least the absence of ugly drinks containers in our beautiful countryside.”

And author Bill Bryson, a former president of CPRE, said: “Future generations will look back on this decision as a piece of supremely enlightened policymaking, and one that raises the prospect of the world’s most beautiful country becoming free from drinks container litter at last.”

Elena Polisano, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said it was “positive” the Government’s proposals included plastic and glass bottles and metal.

“If the system is UK-wide, applicable to drinks containers of all sizes and available everywhere they are sold, it will make a huge difference to the plastic problem.

“The Government must also be careful to avoid a voluntary scheme that only applies to some retailers.

“Both the public and businesses are in favour of a strong deposit return scheme, which is a tried and tested way to increase recycling rates,” she said.

Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability Policy, British Retail Consortium said: “We’re pleased the Government has said any scheme will be based on evidence and any costs for consumers and retailers will be proportionate.

“It is important they co-ordinate work with the Scottish Government who are further ahead with their planning. The Government needs to be creative in its thinking, for example using municipal sites, not just shops in town centres to tackle littering. We also hope we can move on from single issues such as bottles to a more co-ordinated, comprehensive approach to tackling plastic packaging, starting with an effective producer responsibility scheme.”

UK consumers use an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year, but more than three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill or end up as litter in towns, the countryside and the seas, officials said.