Dave Dalton is Chief Executive of British
Glass.
With the Prime Minister and her Government now in situ, the
desire to get on and deliver an ambitious policy programme that
benefits British businesses and consumers alike, and tackles the
immediate pressures faced by the nation, is ever apparent.
But as new ministers hit the ground running, looking to stamp
their mark on new briefs, it is vital that this does not result
in the pausing or dropping of vital policy development undertaken
by their predecessors, especially where this delivers growth
within an industry coupled with clear, evidenced environmental
benefits.
The glass industry in the UK has a longstanding and proud
heritage, and we want to see that not only continue in the months
and years ahead, but thrive for generations to come.
That is why our industry has consistently called for glass
bottles to be excluded from proposed Deposit Return Schemes
(DRS), and instead capture and recycle these bottles alongside
glass food packaging as part of improved, consistent kerbside
collections within a world-leading system of Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR).
Therefore, in the UN’s International Year of Glass, our industry
was delighted to see British and Northern Irish governments
commit to keeping all glass packaging within EPR, and not a DRS.
This is undoubtedly the right move. Including glass in the DRS
would have perversely increased carbon emissions, increased
plastic consumption, and would’ve been extremely inconvenient to
consumers lugging heavy – and breakable – glass bottles back to
return points, which won’t always be located close to home.
Sticking with recycling glass bottles at kerbside will deliver a
higher recycling rate, which is already at 74 per cent for glass,
and is going to be better for our environment. And it’s what the
public want: a recent YouGov survey has shown that over 70 per
cent of people are already satisfied with the current collection
system for glass packaging.
However, there’s a real problem. Whilst the British Government
and Northern Irish Executive have made the right call to keep
glass beverage bottles out of their schemes, Scottish and Welsh
governments have meanwhile outlined their intention to include
glass bottles in theirs, despite clear evidence to contrary,
creating serious concerns about how DRS schemes will operate
across the UK’s internal borders.
The prospect of having multiple, diverging schemes across the UK
will force many drink businesses to make tough decisions,
especially smaller businesses in Wales and Scotland.
One consequence is that it’ll drive up cost. Having different
schemes in Scotland and Wales would mean having to put different
labels on drinks packaging in each country. This could lead to
producers withdrawing products from uneconomic markets – or
switching to plastic packaging – which will hit both business and
consumers hard with high prices and less choice.
It will also lead to greater confusion over what can be recycled
properly, and where, for consumers. The Government’s ambition to
date has been to introduce consistent collection at kerbside to
minimise consumer confusion between different local recycling
systems. However, an inconsistent DRS will risk creating more,
not less, confusion about how to recycle properly – especially
for those living near borders or travelling between countries.
Finally, it will increase the risk of fraud. We know from
evidence from other countries that having multiple schemes with
different materials in scope will result in scheme fraud, and
undermine the purpose introducing such schemes in the first
place.
The solution is clear. Keeping glass bottles out of all Deposit
Return Schemes in the UK, and instead recycling glass bottles
through consistent and improved kerbside collections, will create
a level playing field for producers of all sizes to sell in all
markets without additional cost or complexity, as well as making
it much easier for consumers to recycle their glass bottles.
This is a once-in-a-generation chance to get the UK’s waste and
recycling infrastructure right, and the materials included in the
scope of the future schemes is a critical piece in that jigsaw.
With the new Prime Minister and her government in post, sticking
to the right decision will be vital, as will working with
counterparts in Scotland and Wales to try and find solutions to
the very real concerns of business and consumers across the UK
around interoperability.
The simplest solution, the most cost-effective solution, and the
solution that is best for our industry and environment alike of
course would be for Scottish and Welsh governments to look again
at the evidence, and move to excluding glass bottles from their
respective schemes.
