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New law aims to increase recycling
3 June 1998
A proposed new law aimed at increasing the recycling of drinks containers is being discussed by the House of Commons on Wednesday 3 June. The Drinks Container(Redemption) Bill - which will be introduced by Shipley MP Christopher Leslie (Labour) -calls for a deposit to be paid on bottles and cans which will then be refunded when the container is returned for recycling. Friends of the Earth, which gives the Bill a qualified welcome, would like to see it strengthened to include cartons, and is seeking clarification on how the deposit scheme would interact with local authority door-to-door recycling collections.
The UK has an appalling record on recycling, indeed Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister recently described it as “frankly pathetic”. The UK languishes at the bottom of the European league for the recycling of glass bottles, steel cans and cartons [1]. This is in stark contrast to our neighbours in Denmark and Germany where most drinks packaging is re-used.
[1] Packaging Recycling Rates in Europe (per cent)
Steel Glass
Switzerland na 89
Germany 81 79
Netherlands 56 81
Norway na 75
Sweden 54 72
Austria 47 na
Denmark na 66
France 44 50
Belgium 30 66
Finland na 63
Italy na 53
Ireland na 46
Portugal na 43
Spain 19 35
Greece 17 39
UK 16 22
Cartons
Germany 69%
Austria, Belgium, Sweden Around 30%
France, Netherlands, Italy 2-3%
UK 0%
[2] The Government's consultation on a national waste strategy begins on Tuesday 9 June.
[3] Recycling all packaging could save around:
* 5 billion aluminium cans a year (79000 tonnes);
* 1400000 tonnes of glass (includes bottles and jars
* 500000 tonnes steel (includes industrial steel packaging as well as cans
* 279000 tonnes of plastic bottles
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jul 2008
