A planned bottle deposit scheme aimed at boosting recycling and reducing waste in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been postponed by a year, The Times reports. The Deposit Return Scheme, a similar initiative to one which begins in Scotland in August, was set to start in late 2024, but has been delayed until October 2025 after government documents set a new "stretching start date" yesterday (January 21).
Controversy has emerged as glass bottles - a material that greatly damages the environment - are not included in the scheme in England and Northern Ireland, yet will feature in Wales and Scotland.
The UK uses an estimated 14 million plastic bottles each year, but there is currently only a 70 per cent recycling rate for drink containers. The aim of the scheme is to increase that rating to above 90 per cent, with hopes that people will pay a fee which will be refunded when they return the bottle to shops to be recycled..
