Cross-party group of MPs call on Government to raise its ambitions around flagship Deposit Return Scheme recycling policy
- 20 MPs, from across three major parties, call on Government to include cartons in the proposed Deposit Return Scheme
- The MPs, led by Liberal Democrat Climate Emergency Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP, have accused the Government of lacking ambition and undermining its flagship recycling policy by only including PET and cans
- The industry still awaits the Government’s latest set of proposals following a consultation in 2021
A cross-party group of MPs, led by Wera Hobhouse MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Climate Emergency and Energy, has called on the Government to raise its ambitions around its flagship Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) recycling policy.
In a letter to Environment Secretary George Eustice MP, made public today, 20 Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs have appealed to the Government to widen the scope of materials included its proposals for a DRS.
The group particularly highlights the omission of beverage cartons, the inclusion of which the MPs say, “will improve consumer engagement, by aligning the Scheme more closely with current household recycling.”
The letter adds that including as many materials as possible will help to increase recycling rates and better secure access to high quality recycled material for the packaging industry.
The MPs write, “We therefore urge the Government to raise its ambitions and widen the scope of existing proposals for the DRS to include cartons. A DRS with cartons is better for the environment, better for consumers and better for recycling.”
Under the Government’s current proposals, the DRS will only include PET plastic and metal cans. The carton industry has repeatedly called on the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to rethink its original decision to exclude beverage cartons from the DRS.
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Climate Emergency and Energy, Wera Hobhouse MP, said: “Current Government proposals for a UK DRS lack ambition – this policy has the potential to support the UK’s efforts to build a circular economy, reduce plastic waste and cut emissions, and yet the Government has proposed as limited a scheme as it would be possible to imagine.
What is more, by reducing the scope of the DRS to such a limited number of materials, it risks confusing the British public who are used to recycling materials such as beverage cartons as part of their kerbside collections.
“The most straightforward, user-friendly DRS is one that includes a wide range of materials as possible, including cartons.”
Dragan Rajkovic, Sustainability Director for North Europe at Tetra Pak, commented: “I am delighted to see this cross-party group of MPs take such a firm stance on the need to include more materials, particularly beverage cartons, in the UK’s DRS.
Tetra Pak has been calling on DEFRA to raise its ambitions and widen the Scheme since it published its first proposals three years ago – doing so now would demonstrate a drive to build a true circular economy and achieve net-zero.”
More information about Tetra Pak is available at www.tetrapak.com
