A Bolton MP is urging residents to get involved in a government consultation that could see them rewarded for recycling plastic bottles.
Chris Green, MP for Bolton West & Atherton, has welcomed news that the government is looking at introducing a reward and return scheme for drinks containers.
More than eight million tonnes of plastic are discarded into the world’s oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat. Figures show that just 57 percent of plastic bottles sold in the UK last year were collected for recycling – compared to a record 90 percent of deposit-marked cans and bottles in Denmark, which has a deposit return scheme.
Chris Green said: “I’m very pleased to hear that the government is looking at ways of increasing recycling and protecting our environment.
“These reward schemes work well in other countries and I would be interested to hear what local people and businesses think about the idea.
“The consultation closes at the end of this month, so make sure you get your views in before then.”
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: “We must protect our oceans and marine life from plastic waste if we are to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it.
“That means tackling the rise in plastic bottles entering our waters by making it simpler and easier to recycle and dispose of them appropriately.
“Today we are launching a call for evidence to help us understand how reward and return schemes for plastic bottles and other drinks containers could work in England.
“This approach has already seen great success in other countries such as Denmark in curbing plastic pollution and we want to hear people’s ideas on how we could make it work in England.
“This adds to the progress we have already made in cleaning up our oceans by significantly reducing plastic bag use and drawing up one of the world’s toughest bans on plastic microbeads.”
To take part in the consultation, visit https://consult.defra.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/call-for-evidence-drinks-containers/