Bottle Deposits – next steps

Michael Gove is delaying plans to bring back a “bottle deposit scheme” to stop plastic pollution. [1] Today MPs are calling him out on it. [2] Newspapers are too. [3]

Michael Gove will be feeling the heat. All that’s missing is a huge wave of public pressure – telling him to bring back the scheme now.

Here’s the plan: Michael Gove uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the public. He’ll have a team whose job it is to respond to people’s messages there. If thousands of us send messages on Twitter and Facebook saying the public wants a bottle deposit scheme, it will quickly filter up to Michael Gove himself. He’ll know the public want him to tackle plastic pollution now.

Will you send a message to Michael Gove on Twitter demanding he brings back a bottle deposit scheme? It only takes one minute:

TWEET HERE

Bringing back a deposit return scheme is has only got on Michael Gove’s agenda because thousands of us joined together to tell him to do it. Environmental charity ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ launched a huge petition on the 38 Degrees website and over 320,000 of us signed it. [4] We even took a huge plastic boat made of bottles to Westminster to show MPs the scale of the problem. [5]

He’s said all the right things so far, but now it looks like he’s stalling at the last hurdle. [6] If thousands of us flood Michael Gove’s Facebook and Twitter pages with messages, he’ll have nowhere to hide from the pressure to keep his promise and stop plastic pollution.

NOTES:
[1] Sky News: Government ‘dragging its feet’ on deposit return scheme for plastic bottles:
https://news.sky.com/story/government-dragging-its-feet-on-deposit-return-scheme-for-plastic-bottles-11269137
Surfers Against Sewage: SAS urges government to stay on course with deposit return: https://www.sas.org.uk/uncategorised/sas-urges-government-stay-course-deposit-return/
[2] Twitter: Mary Creagh MP:
https://twitter.com/MaryCreaghMP/status/968100349105057793
Twitter: Environmental Audit Committee:
https://twitter.com/CommonsEAC/status/968058912246202368
[3] The Guardian: Government ‘dragging its feet’ over plastic bottle scheme, say MPs:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/26/government-dragging-its-feet-over-plastic-bottle-scheme-say-mps
BBC News: The papers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-43206337
[4] 38 Degrees: Bring back bottle deposits to stop plastic pollution in our oceans:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/bring-back-bottle-deposits-to-stop-plastic-pollution-in-our-oceans-1
You can read more about Surfers Against Sewage here:
https://www.sas.org.uk/
[5] 38 Degrees Facebook: Turning the tide on plastic pollution:
https://www.facebook.com/peoplepowerchange/videos/vb.200006375787/10159361757335788/?type=2&theater
Surfers Against Sewage: Pressure for Deposit Returns Grows as 270,000 Signatures Delivered to Downing Street:
https://www.sas.org.uk/news/pressure-for-deposit-returns-grows-as-270000-signatures-delivered-to-downing-street/
[6] See note [1] and [3]