The British Beer & Pub Association has today responded to comments made by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Environment, calling for an ‘all-in’ Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
Environment secretary Michael Gove outlined his personal support for an ‘all-in’ Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) earlier this week which would cover drinks containers of all sizes and materials including aluminium cans, glass and plastic bottles, and paper cartons.
Mr Gove said that introducing a more comprehensive DRS would give people the strongest financial and social incentives to recycle their drinks containers.
In his speech, Gove said: ‘The government’s waste reduction partner, WRAP, has persuasively argued that the deeper that deposit return schemes drill into the value chain – extending to cover full life cycle costs under producer responsibility, and an “all-in” standard – the clearer the financial and social signal will be to recycle.
‘We need to work with business to make deposit return schemes as effective as possible and I believe an “all-in” model will give consumers the greatest possible incentive to recycle.’
The BBPA welcomes his comments that more discussion is needed with businesses, but is very concerned that including glass would be too complex and expensive for pubs and brewers alike.
The BBPA has also said a UK-aligned DRS scheme would be the optimal solution, which would avoid two different DRS systems running in parallel between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said:
“The BBPA believes a UK-aligned DRS scheme for single use materials remains the optimal solution.
“We have major concerns over the inclusion of glass in a DRS scheme, which would substantially increase costs that may have to be passed on to consumers. It would also make the system infinitely more complex.
“We remain committed to working with the Government on a Deposit Return Scheme that works for the brewing and pub sectors across the UK. To achieve this, it is essential we are involved in plans to implement the system and more discussions between DEFRA and our sector are needed.”
