Jan 28th, 2017
Bring Back Bottle Deposits to Stop Plastic Pollution in our Oceans
By Nicole G
Plastic bottles are littering our high streets, parks and beaches. They don’t rot, so they end up clogging up landfill sites and the sea.
Right now, the government is drawing up a plan to tackle litter in Britain. And there’s a simple solution. They’re considering starting a bottle deposit scheme: 10p is added to the price of a drink and if you return the bottle you get the money back. It would mean that millions of bottles would get recycled.
But they haven’t made up their mind yet, and sugary drinks company lobbyists are pushing hard to get them to drop the idea. A huge petition would prove to the government the public supports it, and could convince them to introduce the scheme.
‘Surfers Against Sewage’ are an environmental charity – and they’ve started a petition on the 38 Degrees website. Can you add your name now? It takes less than a minute:
Plastic pollution is a huge problem, and a bottle exchange might feel like a small step. But from the 5p plastic bag charge to persuading supermarkets to switch to paper cotton buds, these little changes are adding up. It means we’re turning the tide on plastic litter and pollution.
Other countries are already using bottle deposits to tackle plastic pollution. In Norway, 96% of bottles are returned by people for recycling. We can clean up Britain’s towns, cities and beaches too. But first, we need to show the government that thousands of us want a bottle deposit scheme.
