Deposit return scheme: Government set to tax glass and plastic bottles
Consumers in England would be have their deposit returned if they recycle containers

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The Government has proposed a deposit return scheme for all single-use drink containers and cans to boost recycling.
Consumers in England could end up paying a tax of up to 22p on glass and plastic bottles and steel and aluminum cans under a scheme to be introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, subject to consultation. But the tax would be repaid if the containers are returned for recycling.
Fees would vary depending on the size of the bottle or can.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The plans may involve a network of reverse vending machines, where people could insert their bottles - plastic, glass and metal - and be reimbursed,” The Daily Telegraph reports. Similar programmes exist in several European countries.
“It is absolutely vital we act now to tackle this threat and curb the millions of plastic bottles a day that go unrecycled,” Gove said. “We have already banned harmful microbeads and cut plastic bag use, and now we want to take action on plastic bottles to help clean up our oceans.”
Just 43% of the 13 billion plastic bottles sold each year in the UK are currently recycled. The rest end up incinerated, sent to landfills or discarded as litter.
Similar recycling schemes, which operate in 38 other countries, have increased recycling rates to more than 90%, The Guardian reports.
The plan is a “major victory for environmental campaigners who pressured the Government to act in the wake of Blue Planet II’s expose on plastic waste in the oceans”, says the London Evening Standard.
Samantha Harding, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said she was “thrilled that we will finally see the many benefits a deposit system will bring to England, not least the absence of ugly drinks containers in our beautiful countryside”.
“What's significant is that producers will now pay the full costs of their packaging, reducing the burden on the taxpayer and setting a strong precedent for other schemes where the polluter pays,” she added.
Although this proposal was welcomed by several environmental groups, some consumers were more conflicted.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
5 tips to save on heating bills
The Explainer Follow these expert recommendations for a cozy and cheap winter
By Becca Stanek Published
-
Should you fire your financial adviser? 4 signs it's time to say goodbye.
The Explainer Breakups are never fun, but you have to protect your wallet
By Becca Stanek Published
-
The daily gossip: Man arrested in connection with shooting of Tupac Shakur, an OceanGate movie is in the works, and more
Feature The daily gossip: September 29, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Shell’s North Sea oil U-turn: ‘a first victory in a longer war’?
Speed Read Controversy after oil giant pulls out of proposed Cambo project
By The Week Staff Published
-
Fires, floods and storms: America’s ‘permanent emergency’ has begun
Speed Read This summer of climate horror feels like the ‘first, vertiginous 15 minutes of a disaster movie’, says The New York Times
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Hot air and empty rhetoric: is the UK acting too slowly on climate change?
Speed Read ‘Every day, new evidence accumulates that humanity is on an unsustainable path’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Germany floods: what led to this ‘once-in-a-century’ disaster?
Speed Read Nearly 200 people died in Germany and Belgium; hundreds are still unaccounted for
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Total ban on imports of rubbish to China piles pressure on Asian neighbours
Speed Read Veto on accepting overseas junk marks culmination of three-year reduction policy
By Joe Evans Last updated
-
Penguin colony at risk as Somerset-sized iceberg bears down on British overseas territory
Speed Read Several species face starvation if the icy giant blocks access to feeding grounds
By Aaron Drapkin Published
-
‘Full of hot air’: climate experts exposed as academia’s most frequent flyers
Speed Read Study results trigger calls for environmentalists to ‘look in the mirror’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Last updated
-
Mystery of millions of migrating birds dropping dead from US skies
Speed Read Some experts believe the West Coast wildfires may be to blame for ‘unprecedented’ mass bird deaths in New Mexico
By The Week Staff Last updated