http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23827616



This used to be the norm for decades up to the eighties. It was also a great way for kids to make some extra money.

I think big_D mentioned something similar in Germany previously.

Even I remember getting money back on glass bottles as a kid. I certainly throw out enough plastic ones since we've got a kerb box for recycling and that's it

Belfast Sh1tty Council is also bringing in smaller standard bins and a fortnightly collection I'm told. If that's correct, they really will have to start handing out actual recycling bins. FFS nearly everything I buy is online, know what I mean?

Smaller bins are not really a problem. I can barely fill a shopping carrier in a couple of weeks. Though if families were as efficient as I am with waste then it really would not be a problem. Most are too lazy to cut back I do have a fair amount which is recycled and I could probably cut that a fair amount in time. Food waste is a problem but again that needs people to change their attitude. If people cut back on the apparent 25% of their grocery budget that is binned then it could eliminate that aspect of waste. Though rising food prices might help that.

What happened to glass bottles with a 15p refund when you took them back.

They used to go to bottling plants and were washed and reused.


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It has been law here in Germany for about a decade.

Glass and non-PET plastic bottles are collected and reused, I think the plastic can be re-used about 10 times, before it becomes unhygienic and needs to be replaced. Machines inspect them to make sure they are still structurally sound, before they are refilled.

PET bottles are crushed at the recycling point.

PET bottles have a 25c deposit and glass 15c. You also pay about a Euro for the crates they come in, so a crate of beer (24 0.3L bottles) will cost an extra 4.6€ at the checkout, which you get back, when you return them.

One positive effect was that cans nearly disappeared from the market. But they are starting to make a come back now.

Presumably that also has a noticeable impact on litter?

I doubt it, in the UK at least. Our plastic bag tax has made no noticeable difference round here, for instance.

I think in Oregon they banned cans and imposed a deposit scheme on all bottled drinks. It meant that all shops had to collect and reuse bottles and it also reduced recycling as bottles were reused. It created local jobs for bottling plants to fill state demands for soft drinks.