A public opinion poll commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] has demonstrated overwhelming public support for a return of bottle deposit systems.

82% of those polled by Ipsos MORI said they would support a scheme whereby at least 5 pence was included in the price of every drink container, with that deposit paid back to the consumer when the container was returned for recycling. Four in five of those polled said they would support a scheme whereby 10 pence was included. [2]

Nine out of 10 people in favour of the scheme also thought the deposit would have an impact on reducing litter dropped on the street.

These results come as the Government publishes research into the case for container deposit schemes in the UK, commissioned in response to CPRE’s call for a fresh look at the issue. [3]

Bill Bryson, President of CPRE, said:

‘We asked Government to consider a review of bottle deposit systems earlier this year, and we know Ministers will be looking at the results as part of their strategic review on packaging. This public poll proves that such a scheme would have huge support, so we say that now is the time for the Government to take action.

‘Evidence shows that deposit schemes work well. Eleven US states have them, and the New York State bottle bill, for example, has delivered redemption rates of 65-80%. In South Australia, there are return rates of 74% of plastic bottles and 86-92% for cans. And closer to home, Denmark’s scheme achieves a return rate of 87% for beverage containers, with an 82% rate in Sweden.’

Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at CPRE added:

‘The research commissioned for Defra shows that a deposit scheme could have real advantages, and we don’t even need to look outside the UK for proof. In Scotland, Irn Bru is still available in refundable glass bottles, and an impressive 70% of these are returned. Each glass bottle returned is cleaned, refilled and sold around five times during its full life.

And evidence from a survey in Denmark suggests that cans with deposits on them were far more likely to be returned, and much less likely to be picked up as litter. [4]

A deposit system could have particular advantages to people at Christmas time. We use an extra 750 million bottles and glass containers and 500 million drinks cans during the festive period. [5]

Ben Stafford concluded:

‘A deposit of 10 pence a bottle could see UK householders recovering £125 million at Christmas time alone. With the UK only recycling 35% of the 13 billion plastic bottles we use each year [6], we feel sure a deposit scheme will have a real impact, help to keep the streets cleaner and reduce the annual £500m litter clean-up bill that we all have to pay.’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2.  Technical note on Ipsos MORI poll:
• Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative total sample of 1,012 adults in Great Britain aged 18+.
• Fieldwork was conducted between 5-7 December 2008.
• Interviews were carried out by telephone on Express (the Ipsos MORI telephone Omnibus).
• Results are weighted by gender, age, social grade, ethnicity, working status, tenure and region to the equivalent population profile.

3.  The report by Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM), Review of Packaging Deposit Systems for the UK, is available at http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WR1203_7722_FRP.pdf

4.  Page 23 of the ERM report – a Danish litter survey collected 154,389 cans, of which only 7,989 (5%) were deposit-bearing cans; the rest were foreign cans not part of the Danish scheme, demonstrating that the cans that bore a deposit were being returned, rather than ending up as litter.

5.  Figures from Waste Watch - http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/ChristmasRecycling.htm

6.  Figures from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).