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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday February 07 2018, @04:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the an-ATM-in-reverse dept.

UK 'could adopt Norway recycling system'

A Scandinavian system for recycling bottles is thought likely to be adopted in the UK. Advisers to government say the schemes have massively reduced plastic litter in the environment and seas. And a ministerial delegation has been to Norway to see if the UK should copy an industry-led scheme that recycles 98% of bottles. In the UK, figures show that only around half of all plastic bottles get recycled.

Norway claims to offer the most cost-efficient way of tackling plastic litter. The Norwegian government decided the best method would be to put a tax on every bottle that's not recycled - then leave the operating details of the scheme up to business.

It works like this: the consumer pays a deposit on every bottle, from 10p to 25p depending on size. They return it empty and post it into a machine which reads the barcode and produces a coupon for the deposit. If the careless consumer has left liquid in the bottle, the machine eats it anyway - but hands the deposit to the shopkeeper who'll need to empty the bottle.

Similar schemes are in operation in other Nordic nations, Germany, and some states in the US and Canada.


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  • (Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday February 07 2018, @07:37PM

    by Snow (1601) on Wednesday February 07 2018, @07:37PM (#634513) Journal

    There are buildings all over the place (I have 3 that are each about 5 mins away from my house) that will accept the returns. You just dump all your cans and bottles on a table and they sort and count them for you. At the end, they usually give you a slip of paper to take to the cashier who gives you your money. These are dedicated places -- all they do is bottle returns.

    I have a corner of the garage for cans. I stack them up until I have between $50 and $100 worth, then take them all in at once.

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