Warwickshire environment chief backs green bottle scheme
Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for the environment has joined calls to reduce litter and cut back on greenhouse gases by putting a repayable deposit on plastic and glass bottles.
Researchers from the Campaign for Rural England argue that charging a small, refundable fee on bottles would see 90% of bottles being recycled. Deposits being suggested by the CPRE are 15p for a half litre bottle, 30p for anything larger. This would be refunded upon returning the bottles to an authorised site.
Cllr Alan Cockburn has backed the campaign which, he says, could have a multitude of benefits including reducing waste going to landfill, seeing a fall in the amount of litter and would significantly reduce the energy needed to keep producing new bottles.
Cllr Cockburn says: “The coalition government has spoken of its desire to have a ‘zero waste’ economy and this initiative would be another way to move towards that goal.
“In Warwickshire, we are committed to becoming one of the best authorities for recycling. We currently perform very well – well within the top 40% of authorities - and plans for the new contract for household waste recycling centres should see us move into the top 20%.
“The council’s SWAT campaign – Save Warwickshire a Tonne – in which households, schools and businesses are encouraged and helped to save a tonne of CO2 is a demonstration of our ambition as well as our determination to make a significant difference by changing our lifestyles.
“To recycle bottles, as long as it is at no cost to the consumer, seems an excellent idea. Clearly, we need to reduce waste going to landfill, the sanctions of which are costly. We need to reduce greenhouse gases, achieved by reducing the production process of making new bottles. And we need to remember that Warwickshire is a beautiful county and we do not want that blighted by litter.
“Another potential benefit could be that children, looking to make a bit of pocket money, would go around picking up bottles from the floor. This could be an invaluable tool in educating children about litter and that, too, can only be good for the future of our communities.”
“Those are just a few benefits for the county that spring to mind should this scheme come to fruition. If it were introduced, of course we would want to support it and we would look to our residents to continue the growing trend towards recycling, in which we currently recycle 60,000 tonnes of household waste.”
For further details about how Warwickshire County Council help residents to recycle household waste, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/recyclewarks