Brits to receive 6p for returning bottles to shops for recycling
BRITS will get up to 6p back for every plastic, metal and glass bottles they return to shops under government plans to boost recycling.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced he is consulting on how to implement a deposit return scheme.
Kids who grew up in the 70s and 80s will fondly the taking empty 'pop' bottles back to the shop to collect cash refunds.
Currently just over half of all plastic bottle are recycled - but Mr Gove wants to learn from so-called “reward and return” schemes in Australia and Denmark where up to nine in ten bottles are recycled.
But there were fears that the move would hike the cost of drinks. In Australia consumers can claim back 6p for every empty bottle they return to stores - but that cost is added onto the original price of the product.
This has sparked fears that copying the scheme in the UK would only hike the cost of drinks.
Mr Gove unveiled the plans in his speech to Tory party conference in Manchester – and told delegates that the move would help tackle ocean pollution, with more than 8 million tonnes of plastic dumped in the world’s seas each year.
He cited the plastic bag charge and the ban on plastic microbeads as examples of government action that has succeeded in reducing pollution.
Up to 80 per cent of the dumped plastic in the ocean is thought to have been lost or discarded on land before it ends up in the sea.
He said: “We are looking to go further to reduce plastic waste by working with industry to see how we could introduce a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles.
"Our oceans are our planet's greatest natural resource and this government is determined to ensure we restore them to health for the next generation."
Ministers have asked the working group to report back early in the New Year.
Earlier in the day Mr Gove urged Theresa May to bring in a permit system for seasonal agricultural workers – which would treat EU and non-EU fruit pickers the same after Brexit.
He assured farmers at a fringe event at the Tory conference in Manchester that they will still be able to hire cheap seasonal workers after we leave the EU – as long as they have “appropriate” permits.
The move would bring back a seasonable workers scheme that was ditched when Tony Blair opened Britain’s borders to Eastern European migrants in 2004.
Mr Gove said in a transition period EU workers would continue to be free to come to the UK for work – although he proposed a system that invites them to register with the Home Office.
He said: “Beyond that I think it will be the case that, whether it is from the EU or beyond, that people who want to come here and work and for whom there is clearly a demand should be able to do so with appropriate permits.
“On top of that I think that there may well be a case, I’m convinced that there is a case, for looking at a seasonal agricultural workers scheme that allows people whether it is from EU nations or indeed beyond from places like the Ukraine to come here for a limited period in order to augment the existing workforce.”