The first national trial of a digital deposit return scheme using financial rewards has been launched by Ocado.
The company is piloting the rewards on its own-brand two and four-pint milk bottles, in a world first that DDRS supporters have hailed as a milestone event in the development of the technology.
Ocado is working with recycling tech company Polytag and recycling app Bower on the trial, launching today (14 July).
The first 20,000 codes scanned will see consumers receive a 20p reward, which will appear in their digital wallet in the Bower app – the same amount that is supposed to be redeemed as a deposit in the upcoming DRS legislation once it is rolled out in 2025.
However, the DDRS breakthrough comes with huge doubts over the rollout of DRS using reverse vending machines in stores, following the collapse of the UK’s first scheme in Scotland and delays in the rest of the UK.
Two weeks ago, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) questioned the potential benefits of DRS, amid fears from retailers over the infrastructure and maintenance costs of a traditional system like that used elsewhere in Europe.
Against that backdrop, support for a digital-based system has grown.
Last month The Grocer reported Aldi, Co-op and Morrisons were among retailers backing the first whole-town trial of a DDRS scheme with a three-month trial in Brecon, Wales, which was due to start this week.
More than 4,000 households will be able to claim a 10p reward, digitally on an app or manually from stores, each time they recycle drinks containers including PET bottles, cans, gas and Tetra Pak products sold by more than 20 different retailers.
Ocado and Polytag claim the latest milestone is even closer to showing a nationwide digital system is possible .
It will use serialised QR codes printed using standard industry printing processes which can only be scanned once, preventing consumers from repeatedly claiming back a deposit from the same pack.
The Bower app will also use in-app GPS technology to validate that the consumer is claiming 20p by standing within close distance of a registered home recycling bin.
The on-pack QR codes also enable brands to access real-time data on packaging lifecycles, including if, when and where packaging is recycled, allowing them to streamline operations while communicating their sustainability strategies to consumers.
Invisible tags will also feature on all product labels, to help data captured in the app when a consumer claims their reward to be mapped and demonstrate a full “end to end” DDRS solution.
Ocado’s partnership with Polytag, which last week won the Grocer Gold Award for best digital innovation, last year saw unique-every-time QR codes printed on five million labels for two and four-pint milk bottles.
The codes take consumers to a fully customised landing page containing real-time information and dynamic content.
“To be able to launch a workable digital deposit return scheme that actually pays consumers back for recycling is a game-changing move for recycling and the circular economy in the UK,” said Ocado senior packaging and sustainability manager Laura Fernandez.
“We already know Ocado shoppers have an appetite for such a scheme as when we surveyed them last year, 80% said they were likely or very likely to scan a QR code for a deposit return.”
Polytag cited a survey by independent environmental consultancy Resource Futures that recently estimated a DDRS would result in cost savings of £3.4bn over an 11-year period, compared to conventional DRS, because it would negate the need for reverse vending machines to be installed countrywide.
It said it was also less carbon-intensive because consumers can simply put packaging into kerbside collection for recycling.
“In its response to the DRS consultation in January, the UK government encouraged innovators to continue to demonstrate that the technology for a DDRS exists,” said Polytag CEO Alice Rackley.
“Our partnership with Bower and Ocado Retail is the next step in demonstrating the viability of a DDRS in the UK. After successfully mass-applying five million unique-every-time QR codes to Ocado Retail’s packaging, we will now further conduct a proof of concept – consumers receiving monetary rewards for good recycling habits. We are excited to analyse consumer interaction with the codes, and strongly believe this could be a breakthrough moment when it comes to recycling in the UK.”
Bower founder and CEO Suwar Mert added: “For the first time, we now have a pioneering technology for a digital deposit return scheme.
“Consumers can now embark on a rewarding recycling journey by using mobile phones and regular recycling bins.
“Over 500,000 users are already using the app, and get rewarded not only for their bottles and cans but for all packaging with a barcode. We can elevate recycling rates and put speed and scale behind the transition towards a circular packaging economy.”
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