The “geniuses at supermarkets” would be able to overcome any logistical issues the introduction of a deposit return scheme would bring, according to a committee of influential MPs.
A “culture shift” and new legislation may be needed to improve recycling rates and combat the 700,000 plastic bottles that litter UK streets every day, they say.
The Environment Audit Committee heard yesterday that a third of the 30 billion plastic bottles used each year by UK households end up “suffocating our oceans”.
It also questioned why retailers and manufacturers were reluctant to adopt a return scheme for plastic bottles, an idea backed by drinks giant Coca-Cola.
The government said deposit schemes - which involve a small surcharge paid by consumers being refunded when bottles are returned - had been successful in other countries.
Giving evidence to the committee, British Retail Consortium head of environment Alice Ellison said the “expensive” set-up and running costs of a deposit return scheme may not be the best way to spend resources.
She also suggested families that buy multipacks would have to “work hard” to get back a “big upfront cost of £1 or £2”.
“So that’s customers’ money in the system somewhere and actually customers are going to be faced with upfront costs that they are going to have to work hard to get back in a time when prices are already increasing ahead of wages, and we don’t know what the impact of Brexit is going to be,” she said.
“If I give myself as an example, I shop online and I would have to go back to a shop to get the money back.”
She added: “There are huge logistical issues, so you are mixing food with waste and asking delivery drivers to have money.”
Chair of the committee Mary Creagh said it was the same argument retailers had used with plastic bags.
“Huge logistical issues for supermarkets that have 10,000 to 20,000 product lines and are used to dealing with logistics, so I’m sure the geniuses at supermarkets can overcome those huge logistical issues,” she said.
The cross-party committee also raised the possibility of consumers “dumping” packaging back to supermarkets to recycle rather than local authorities.
“That way they the supermarkets can put pressure on the manufacturer to reduce packaging,” said Labour MP Geraint Davies.
Tory Zac Goldsmith suggested legislation should be introduced on the amount of variety of plastics that can be used so the industry “responds quickly”.
“This is not a new problem that has suddenly emerged - plastic has been building up in the environment now for decades,” he said.
“Two hundred million tonnes of plastic is in the Pacific at the moment, which has been produced by companies and found its way into the environment. The voluntary route has had a chance now for many many years.”
The committee also heard from Plastics and Flexible Packaging director Barry Turner, who said the “tide of plastic” that is polluting the world came from a lack of infrastructure and individual behaviours.
“Producers pay into a scheme and they want to see a reform to direct those monies into a better way to make more effective recycling and waste in the future,” he said.
The committee also heard “a lot of” plastic ended up in a “hole in the ground”, exported to China, or was incinerated.
According to the Bureau of International Recycling China, last year China imported 7.3 million tonnes of plastic scrap from Europe, Japan and the US, and 27 million tonnes of waste paper.
Three months ago, China decided to ban 24 different grades of rubbish as part of its ‘National Sword’ campaign against foreign rubbish, which is expected to come into effect in January.
Creagh said the ban was a “looming crisis for the industry” as it will not be able to keep “shoving waste on to ships”.
But Turner dismissed the idea of a “looming crisis” and argued it could create a more favourable situation in the UK with more money being spent on recycling.
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