KEEP Scotland Beautiful yesterday joined a cohort of organisations, led by Keep Britain Tidy, calling for the new UK government to urgently commit to a Deposit Return Scheme.
Alongside environmental organisations, manufacturers and retailers, we have signed a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to work with the devolved nations to urgently bring in a Deposit Return Scheme to protect the environment from littered drinks packaging and dramatically increase recycling rates.
The signatories include major soft drinks producers Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Suntory, the British Soft Drinks Association, a raft of environmental organisations including WWF, Surfers Against Sewage and the Marine Conservation Society and trade body the Federation of Independent Retailers – and collectively reiterates unwavering support for the UK Government’s implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme, which has undergone extensive development.
Research from circular economy non-profit Reloop shows that currently more than 20 million drinks containers are incinerated, sent to landfill or littered each day across the UK.
KSB Chief Executive Barry Fisher, who signed the letter, said: “Our research shows 65% of people report seeing littered drinks cans regularly, and 66% report seeing plastic bottles littered regularly.
“Additionally, we know from our detailed ground litter surveys that 27% of sites record a presence of litter which would be recoverable under a Deposit Return Scheme.
“The delay of a Deposit Return Scheme from 2025 to 2027 announced by the UK Government earlier this year was a major setback for us in Scotland. We know a sufficient and well-designed Deposit Return Scheme is vital to tackle a significant contributor to Scotland’s litter emergency, and it should have been implemented long before now.”
More than 40 countries have already successfully implemented a Deposit Return Scheme with the best designed seeing return rates of up to 98% as a result.