Bottle deposit return scheme could cost drinkers £280m

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has warned that introducing deposits on glass containers to encourage more recycling could cost UK drinkers £280 million (US$362.5m) over the next five years.

The WSTA has called for glass to be removed from a proposed deposit return scheme

The deposit return scheme (DRS) was unveiled by environment secretary Michael Gove last year as part of an “overhaul” of England’s waste system, which will put a “legal onus on those responsible for producing damaging waste to take greater responsibility and foot the bill”.

To encourage recycling efforts, the government plans to introduce a consistent set of recyclable materials for collection, subject to consultation. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach will ensure that the industry pays higher fees if their products are harder to reuse, repair or recycle and will encourage sustainable design, subject to consultation.

However, following a consultation on the proposed regulations, the WSTA has submitted a strong objection over the inclusion of glass in the DRS, arguing there are better ways to boost recycling in England and Wales.

In its submission to the Defra consultation, the WSTA argues that glass is 100% recyclable, it does not present the same threat to wildlife as plastic and is made from natural materials.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, said: “The WSTA has long argued that there is no evidence to support the inclusion of glass in the deposit return scheme. What is clear is that including glass drastically increases costs which ultimately will end up being paid for by the consumer.

“One of the major concerns is that by including glass the government would drive producers and retailers into moving away from glass and finding other solutions and actually increasing plastic pollution.

“The UK already exceeds EU recycling targets for glass and Michael Gove must question whether it would be significantly more cost-effective with greater environmental gains to exempt glass from DRS and improve kerbside collection instead.”

In 2018, around 1.7 billion glass bottles of wine and spirits were sold in the UK. The WSTA reports that if glass was included in the DRS each bottle would carry an extra 3.3p surcharge, a cost it says would land with the consumer. When added to the proposed 20p refundable deposit per bottle, the price of an average bottle of wine would increase from £5.84 to £6.08.