Sir, The national deposit return scheme (DRS) announcement sends out all the right messages to businesses. It shows government is committed to addressing a ‘throwaway’ culture and plastic pollution.
As founder of The Planet Mark, I work with and talk to organisations across the UK, from large corporates to SMEs and startups. While they are across sectors, they all understand that sustainability is good for business and that business can be a power for good for society and the environment.
Yes, the detail of DRS needs to be worked out so that we have better integrated and improved kerbside collections, for example. But that’s the purpose of the consultation period and an opportunity to learn from successful schemes in Norway, Denmark and Germany. And yes, there will be a cost, but industry should not be afraid of investment when government is equally committed - which it has to be.
The public wants action on the plastic polluting our natural world. We are in an unstoppable revolution to a cleaner, better way of living. It is driving new ways of thinking and doing business.
For those businesses that haven’t seen this coming, the DRS announcement will be a wake-up call. For those already embracing sustainability, it offers an outstanding business opportunity to collaborate, design better products and to be part of a truly sustainable solution.
Steve Malkin, founder, The Planet Mark
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