David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK comments on the importance of the Environmental Audit Committee's conclusion on deposit return schemes:
“We are pleased to see the Environmental Audit Committee reach the conclusion that Government should adopt a system of deposit return schemes for plastic bottles as part of a wider producer-responsibility policy regime.
The committee crucially recognises that current producer responsibility systems are ineffective at reducing the burden of packaging waste on society and we support the idea of incentivising manufacturers who use more recyclable material, while penalising those who don’t. At the moment, the opposite is almost true. Market forces would quickly see consumers switch to more sustainable products as a result.
Deposit return schemes have the potential to revolutionise recycling on the go by making it easier, and more attractive, for consumers to recycle plastic bottles outside of their homes. Deposit return schemes that are backed by manufacturers will ensure that their bottles are returned directly to them, to be made into new bottles, rather than being littered in our hedgerows and rivers. A well designed scheme should represent a ‘win’ for manufacturers, consumers and the environment.”
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