This post is written by Ghadir Malek, Policy Advisor, UK Civil Service.

  • The problem: Plastic packaging pollution.
  • Why it matters: When plastic waste is improperly managed, it is harmful to the environment and human health.
  • The solution: The Deposit Return Scheme for a circular economy.

Governments must adopt policies that facilitate a circular economy and properly manage plastic waste.

As the world’s population increases and economies continue to pursue growth, our consumption of goods continues to soar. A consequence of booming consumerism is plastic pollution. Single-use plastic packaging for food and drink makes up 36% of the plastic packaging produced globally and the UN estimates that 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute worldwide.

From 1950-2017, approximately seven billion of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced became waste, being dumped in the environment, placed into landfills, or incinerated. The impact of improper plastic waste management has affected natural habitats, caused harm to human health, and contributes to air pollution. Due to insufficient recycling capabilities, the EU exported 150,000 tonnes of plastic waste per month in 2019. This is unsustainable.

A change is needed

Governments must adopt policies that facilitate a circular economy and properly manage plastic waste. One good example? A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). A DRS has a simple design principle. A deposit is placed on containers such as bottles and cans which the consumer pays for along with the product price. The deposit is redeemed when the container is returned over the counter, commonly via reverse vending machines. If a customer does not return the container to collect the deposit, it is given to producers, retailers, donated to charity, or funnelled back into running the scheme.

Research by the UK parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee found that Germany and Norway recycled 98% and 95% of plastic drinks bottles respectively. Both countries operate a DRS. In comparison, the United Kingdom has a plastic bottle recycling rate of 57% for the 13 billion used annually and does not operate a DRS.

How did Germany do it?

To look at the merits and pitfalls of a DRS, we will take a closer look at the German system, which was introduced in 2003. The German scheme places a higher deposit on single-use plastic bottles of around €0.25 and a smaller deposit between €0.08 and €0.15 on refillable glass and plastic bottles. The German state-run environmental agency (Umweltbundesamt), claims refillable plastic bottles can be used up to 25 times and glass bottles up to 50 times. The recycling rate is extraordinarily high with less litter and more people go out of their way to return bottles and cans.

The German scheme is estimated to have a set-up cost of £600 million, with £700 million annually for maintenance. With inflation and other costs factored in, this sum would be significantly higher today. An unexpected consequence of the scheme is that while recycling rates increased, the share of single-use plastic bottles in the market also rose from 28.8% in 2004 to 54.5% in 2015, while the share of refillable bottles decreased from 66.3% in 2004 to 44.3% in 2015.

A DRS can effectively increase recycling rates in a country; however, it is not a silver bullet to plastic packaging waste.

It seems some companies circumvent the logistical costs with reusable bottles to benefit from the recycling and onward sale of single-use bottles. This could be because having a streamlined process that recycles single-use plastic bottles into food grade materials is simpler than having separate processes for single-use and reusable plastic bottles. Lidl has its own recycling business in Germany with each unreturned bottle contributing to a profit of €180 million in one year. The packaging laws in Germany have since been revised to expand the DRS and related obligations by requiring the labelling of single-use plastics to increase awareness of their widespread use.

Improving the environment

A DRS can effectively increase recycling rates in a country; however, it is not a silver bullet to plastic packaging waste. Businesses may take advantage of policy loopholes in the furtherance of profits which can lead to detrimental unforeseen externalities. Nonetheless, solutions to reduce litter and manage plastic pollution are necessary as this is a continual and long-term challenge. Each DRS is different and should be part of a multi-faceted approach for tackling pollution, littering, and encouraging a more robust waste management system.

It is crucial that governments who adopt a DRS learn from the limitations of previous approaches. Measures such as putting forward a standardised refillable plastic bottle and glass bottle for businesses to use while clamping down on single-use plastics is one option.

Central governments, businesses, and consumers must work together and be aligned in the goal to reduce plastic waste. All eyes are now on Scotland and the UK as both the devolved and central government aim to implement a DRS in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

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