Time to start bringing back the empties
Wednesday 22nd September 2010, 11:49AM BST.
About 30 years ago I wrote a column challenging the rise of glass “recycling” which involved pulverising perfectly good bottles and melting them down to make identical new ones, writes Peter Rhodes.
My piece was inspired by a university report questioning the environmental benefits. After all, dairies would never dream of smashing up milk bottles after one outing.
But it was pretty obvious, even back then, that the bottle-smashers were unstoppable, thanks to the support of celebrities such as HRH Prince Charles, in his new green guise, and of the supermarkets who said it was too expensive to store old bottles.
Yet in France, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Norway and other countries, a deposit is paid on refillable bottles.
Bill Bryson, the travel writer and President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, says it’s nonsense for Britain not to have a bottle-deposit scheme.
I sense the wind of change. I look forward to 21st century kids discovering the 1950s joy of filling your arms with empties and reclaiming the deposit at the nearest offie. Coming soon: how to darn socks.
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I would also like to see drinks cans have some sort of a deposit on them. The plague of discarded cans (usually alcoholic drinks)around my neighbourhood would disappear overnight.
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ive seen this in norway and lidls in sweden put bottles in a shoot outside the shop get reciept get money taken of shopping bill great idea this country is way behind
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Sorry Peter, this is too much common sense and too much money in the public purse ;) We can’t be having that.
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