Lidl has launched a bottle return scheme across all its supermarkets in Glasgow – a move that is anticipated to facilitate the recycling of 10.5 tonnes of plastic and aluminium every month through the use of in-store reverse vending machines.
Rolling out across all 21 of its Glasgow stores, with the potential to roll out further, shoppers will receive a 5p reward for each eligible item that they return. This can either be redeemed against their shopping or donated to Lidl’s charity partner, The STV Children’s appeal, which it has been working with since 2011.
There is no cap on the number of items that can be returned, and Lidl will accept qualifying bottles and cans purchased from any retailer, as long as they are clean and uncrushed.
The launch comes after the Scottish Government delayed the introduction of its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) from its original go-live date of 16 August 2023. Lidl hopes that its in-house scheme will ensure that shoppers can benefit from the infrastructure that has already been put in place by the discounter.
Unlike DRS, Lidl’s bottle return scheme does not place a deposit on the retail price of the original product.
The machines will accept single-use drinks packaging made from either PET or aluminium, are 100ml - 3L in size, and have a readable barcode to scan at the point of donation. The retailer says that dairy items, such as HDPE plastic milk or yoghurt drinks, Tetra-packs, paper-based cartons, glass and pouches are not eligible for return.
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