Petition Establish a drinks container deposit scheme to increase recycling and reduce litter

The undersigned would like to see the introduction of a bottle and can deposit scheme in order to increase the amount of plastics/glass/aluminium which the UK recycles.

The way the scheme works is that for each drinks container bought (eg. at a Supermarket), the Supermarket would then add a small deposit (eg. £0.25) to the bill.

After the bottle has been used, the customer would simply return it to the shop and receive the £0.25 deposit back.

The shop would then have the bottle recycled.

Schemes such as this already operate very successfully in Germany, Norway and Sweden. In these countries, recycling is common practice and litter is much less of an issue.

This scheme would instil the habit of recycling and not cost the consumer any extra, providing they recycle the container.

The scheme could be phased in gradually to allow businesses to cope with the implementation.