2. The Limitations of Recycling

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), due to launch in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland in 2027, will reward consumers for returning single-use drinks containers. It promises to tackle litter and pollution - but is flawed. 

The planned DRS covers aluminium, steel and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles, but excludes many common containers, including milk bottles (HDPE) medicine bottles, syrup bottles and, crucially, glass bottles.

Discarded glass bottles can start fires, injure wildlife and harm people and pets. Wales is developing a broader scheme including glass - offering a better model.

Whilst the DRS will help collect more containers, recycling itself has serious limitations. Although the DRS will reduce raw material usage, energy and CO2 emissions, most plastics are not really recyclable in the true sense and the DRS won’t slow the production of single-use items. Further false solutions like incineration risk compounding pollution and emissions.

The German DRS is often hailed as a success, with a 98% return rate. However, this has increased the production of single-use plastic as businesses avoid the cost of cleaning and transporting reusable packaging. Shredding and re-forming plastic also uses energy and creates emissions. Even recycling glass has issues, only saving about 25% of the energy used to manufacture new glass.

In the UK, requiring consumers to take bottles to shops or vending machines could deter participation, especially in rural areas or for online shoppers. Increased car trips could also undermine environmental gains.

Until manufacturers are held responsible for their costs, through an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme (EPR) as explained in a later episode, these will be passed along the supply chain to consumers. Unless people return their bottles, they risk paying more without benefitting.

The DRS is a useful step towards reducing waste, but it doesn’t address the root problem: the overproduction of single-use packaging. The proposed Global Plastics Treaty, currently under negotiation by 175 countries, aims to address the entire lifecycle of plastics through legally binding measures to reduce reliance on virgin plastic materials.

Recycling alone won’t solve the current environmental catastrophe; real change means redesigning systems to prioritise reuse and reduction.