Bottle deposits

[reohn2]

........... Why this fashion for drinking water and juices all the time?

It puzzles me too.
I have a friend who feels he's undressed without a bottle of water in his hand,I've tried explaining that just walking about won't dehydrate him (other than in really hot weather) but he seems to think he'll wither and die like an unwatered plant if he doesn't consume what seems like a gallon of water a day

[reohn2]

some dog walkers do this and collect them on there way back rather than having to carry for the whole walk. I do occasionally with ours.

Some dog walkers forget and others don't give toss about their dog's waste,I can't walk 200m(I've paced it)from my front door without having to dodge dog crap on the pavement.
I know it's the minority and very often a small minority too,but some people are just disgusting in their social habits

[661-Pete]

arent the called paper bags?

Seriously (and banter aside ) - I believe paper bags are more expensive to produce - and also possibly forest-unfriendly (depending on where the paper comes from).

Down at LeClerc and similar, in France, they provide paper bags for bagging mushrooms. All other fruit and veg goes in these plastic "compostables". They're rather flimsy: don't always survive the journey home, certainly not two trips.

Occurs to me - back in the UK we used to get a steady supply of brown paper bags from the local street market - but not elsewhere. They were very useful for bagging up loose stuff (much of the produce in the Riverford box is loose) and would last several goes. After which they can be recycled, provided they're still clean and dry. But now - alas! - our one-and-only street market has folded . Where to get a supply of paper bags, henceforth? The pharmacist? Yes they use (white) paper bags for our prescriptions, of good quality, but mostly far too small.

[Debs]

The capitalist profit making machine has decided it can make more profit from raising the price of non essential and environmental unfriendly plastic bottles, the deposit money back scheme is very limited, all plastic bottles will cost more but only the ones actually retuned to the designated place will be granted a deposit charge back, many will never get returned for deposit.
The deposit amount won't be reward enough for many dumbo litterbugs who will feel it their right and privilege to continue tossing it out their car window instead

This daft scheme simply doesn't address the generational seismic shift of social culture and attitude change towards littering.
Having experienced riding a bicycle around since the 1960s i've never known it to be so bad as now with so much roadside rubbish, much of which seems to be generated by McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Crap, et al, and mixed with all manner of other stuff like crisp packets, cigarette boxes, babies nappies, which one can only realise is disposed of via the car window while driving past.

IMO the general public need educating about littering, and anyone caught doing it should be prosecuted with a £300 fine & sentenced to community service chain gang for a month of walking the road-side picking up litter.

All they need to do is set up a 'report a littering offence' from your vehicle helmet cam or dash cam, and if it succeeds in scoring a conviction then the reporter receives a reward of £100 which is paid by the offender as a part of the fine - who will also be appearing on the chain-gang litter pick-up shortly after

[mercalia]

Just had a look at my recycle bag. Well a few 2l milk bottles but most are meat trays and the sort of tray you buy ready meals and biscuits/cakes in. I have a few bleach bottles also but I will keep them for the next water cut off to store some water in.


According to the BBC -

"The scheme will apply to all single-use drink containers whether they are plastic, glass or metal. "

so thats nothing that I use will be affected

seems like the evidence it makes any difference in other countries is mixed -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43571269

"There's not much evidence to suggest deposit schemes reduce littering.

The Defra-commissioned research said that although "the general assumption appears to be that receiving a monetary or other reward will encourage consumers to deposit containers at a collection point instead of littering", there was little data to support this.

A German study published four years after its deposit scheme was introduced found no evidence of litter reduction. "

can any one comment do other EU countries have the same kerb side recycling collection as we do in the UK? If they dont then no wonder the proposed scheme makes a difference in those countries?

and the cost of the machines to collect the bottles?

"Environmental consultants Eunomia estimated one machine could cost £30,000 to buy, £2,000 to install and another £2,700 a year to operate. " seems money better spent otherwise?


"The German system is estimated to have cost about £600m (726m euros) as an initial set-up in 2003, and about £700m (793m euros) annually for maintenance."

I dont think we should be following anything the EU does uncritically as they have a long history for stupid ideas? This seems to be one of them?

[Mick F]

According to the BBC -
"The scheme will apply to all single-use drink containers whether they are plastic, glass or metal. "
so thats nothing that I use will be affected

Me too ................ except Old Speckled Hen from Lidl.

[pwa]

I wonder if purveyors of bottled water are starting to feel uneasy. Is it about to become socially irresponsible to get water this way?

[mercalia]

According to the BBC -
"The scheme will apply to all single-use drink containers whether they are plastic, glass or metal. "
so thats nothing that I use will be affected

Me too ................ except Old Speckled Hen from Lidl.

I never cease to me amazed at all the brand names of bottled beer I see in my Lidls, must be atleast 20 different names and labels, they all look enticing but so many to choose from indecision They are what are called craft beers? Do they really have distinct flaviours? they are all just BEER?

[reohn2]

]

there's not much evidence to suggest deposit schemes reduce littering.

The Defra-commissioned research said that although "the general assumption appears to be that receiving a monetary or other reward will encourage consumers to deposit containers at a collection point instead of littering", there was little data to support this.

A German study published four years after its deposit scheme was introduced found no evidence of litter reduction. "

But if it made it worth your while to return the containers,you'd return them,5p isn't worth a toss to most people,50p might be and £1 definetly would.
And if it a £1 wasn't worth it to the consumer,wouldn't bounce twice before some enterprising teenager or some broke adult snapped it up and cashed in,because it'd worth their effort.

and the cost of the machines to collect the bottles?

"Environmental consultants Eunomia estimated one machine could cost £30,000 to buy, £2,000 to install and another £2,700 a year to operate. " seems money better spent otherwise?


"The German system is estimated to have cost about £600m (726m euros) as an initial set-up in 2003, and about £700m (793m euros) annually for maintenance."

I dont think we should be following anything the EU does uncritically as they have a long history for stupid ideas? This seems to be one of them?

If the companies who dump the plastics on the consumers taking no further interest in it are made to pay for the installation and upkeep,they can then have the job of recycling the plastics then their chickens will have come home to roost.
And why shouldn't they pay for ALL the problems their plastics cause?
After all they make LOTS of profit from selling plain and sugared water and other consumables to the public.

[Debs]

Another potential problem with a deposit scheme is that it may entice young kids to go looking for cash refund items in the most filthy of places just to make a few pennies. Would anyone here be happy with their kids rummaging about in a filthy ditch with dirty nappies, used condoms, hypodermic syringes with sharp needles, dog mess, ...just to find a quids worth refundable glass, tin or plastics?

[reohn2]

Another potential problem with a deposit scheme is that it may entice young kids to go looking for cash refund items in the most filthy of places just to make a few pennies. Would anyone here be happy with their kids rummaging about in a filthy ditch with dirty nappies, used condoms, hypodermic syringes with sharp needles, dog mess, ...just to find a quids worth refundable glass, tin or plastics?

I'm betting if the deposit is high enough at about £1 refund per item,there wouldn't be many ditches full of bottles and cans.
I'm also betting if the drinks companies have to pay for the machines and recycling they'll come up with better packaging
There's two BIG if's in there,but what's betting the truth is the refund will be 5p per item and will make little if any difference at all to littering and plastic waste.
It's what you get with toothless governments who want to be seen to be doing something about the environment,but do nothing because they aren't owned by the people but by multinational corporations.
We only have to look at air pollution in our towns and cities to see they aren't bothered about much.

[merseymouth]

Hi there, My recollection of the days when all glass bottles carried a refundable deposit throws up an issue?
Many vendors used distinctive marks to ensure that they only gave refunds on bottles that they had actually sold, either a ball-pen mark or a ink stamp!
As for the kids nicking the bottles from the back-yard of the pub to get money back? Back in my bar tending days one acquired the knack of scraping the label back with the thumb nail whilst opening the bottle, deftly done without the customer noticing. Hence no bottle with a label scrape would qualify for a refund. Out Sales weren't scraped! Halcyon Days. IGICB MM

[Paulatic]

According to an inflation calculator I found that old 2D we paid on a bottle, circa 1960, equates to 20p today. That could be a starting point.

[reohn2]

According to an inflation calculator I found that old 2D we paid on a bottle, circa 1960, equates to 20p today. That could be a starting point.

I was walking behind a teenager(probably 13 or 14 tops) last week who dropped a 20p on the floor,she took a second to look at it but didn't bother to bend down and pick it up.
Make of that what you will,but I was quite surprised.

[Cunobelin]

Exactly.

Before, people had a tap or a drinking fountain. At school, we had a glass of water with our lunch.
These days, people walk the streets with a coffee cup, you even see people drinking and driving. Some folk don't even leave the house without a bottle of water.

Why this fashion for drinking water and juices all the time?

Health advice?