The UK government has recently announced that they will be introducing a scheme where consumers must pay a deposit when they buy plastic bottles and cans. This will initially increase the price of an item but the money will be returned along with the container. The idea behind this is to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill and to boost recycling rates. It’s all about embedding the plastic waste idea into people’s brains when they go shopping, and I think it’s a fantastic idea!
Since the UK introduction of the 5p plastic bag charge back in 2015, the use of these bags has dropped by 80%! Who’s to say this couldn’t be the case for plastic bottles and cans?! Other countries renowned for their efficient waste management, such as Sweden and Norway, already have such deposits in place and this has greatly increased the rates of plastic recycling. Once environmental concerns begin to impact our personal lives, this is really when we will start to see change.