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[STEMO]

A worthy idea, but how the hell will it work in practice. Let's take the supermarket I use most, Asda. They must sell thousands of plastic bottles every week, from water to soft drinks to milk to ketchup. What about a multi-pack of water with 24 bottles? Will you pay the 20odd pence on each? That would make the deposit more expensive than the water. Where are are they going to store all of the returns?
These are just a few of the problems that I can see, no doubt you lot will see a lot more. We've got to do something, but really?

[STEMO]

I've just had a tot up. I would have to return around 25-30 bottles a week. 

[Gaffers]

It works fine in Germany and elsewhere.  No reason why we shouldn't have it, in fact it should have been done years ago.

Anyone who is against it is welcome to come with me on a dive around the UK coast to see for yourself the amount of plastic and rubbish in our seas.

[STEMO]

Wow! On the news now, it's glass and cans too. Young children could become very rich on the back of this. It's like going back 50 years for me.

[STEMO]

It works fine in Germany and elsewhere.  No reason why we shouldn't have it, in fact it should have been done years ago.

Anyone who is against it is welcome to come with me on a dive around the UK coast to see for yourself the amount of plastic and rubbish in our seas.

Which dives do you frequent, then? 

[Gaffers]

It works fine in Germany and elsewhere.  No reason why we shouldn't have it, in fact it should have been done years ago.

Anyone who is against it is welcome to come with me on a dive around the UK coast to see for yourself the amount of plastic and rubbish in our seas.

Which dives do you frequent, then? 

All the best ones

[STEMO]

Don't get me wrong, Matt, as I said earlier, something has got to be done. But this proposal throws up so many questions.
Here's a couple of things:Once you've paid your deposit, you'll never get it back, because the refund you receive will just pay for your next deposit.
If I choose not to recycle, will the council still have a glass/plastic/tin can collection? If so, will Eastern Europeans buy flat beds and empty your bins before the council gets to them?
Can I recycle cans that I buy in the corner shop at the supermarket?
If it takes me half an hour to do my shopping now, will that now take half a day, providing the machines don't break down?

Can I get a government loan to pay my first deposit? I do buy a lot of cans and bottles.

[STEMO]

Oh.......and should I start hoarding now, building up a nice pile in my back garden? Could be a right little earner. 

[Varche]

Recycling is reasonably good in Spain. We don't have refuse collection so use the street recycling in nearby town. You just need to get organised OR throw it out of your car window.

Cannot see why a scheme wouldn't work.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

As kids we would return the old glass 'pop bottles' and get 3d or 6d back.

These bottles were then placed out back in the yard.

Being an enterprislng young chap I would shin over the 6ft wall and 'reclaim them' before taking them back to the same shopkeeper far another 3d or 6d. 

[Gaffers]

Don't get me wrong, Matt, as I said earlier, something has got to be done. But this proposal throws up so many questions.
Here's a couple of things:Once you've paid your deposit, you'll never get it back, because the refund you receive will just pay for your next deposit.
If I choose not to recycle, will the council still have a glass/plastic/tin can collection? If so, will Eastern Europeans buy flat beds and empty your bins before the council gets to them?
Can I recycle cans that I buy in the corner shop at the supermarket?
If it takes me half an hour to do my shopping now, will that now take half a day, providing the machines don't break down?

Can I get a government loan to pay my first deposit? I do buy a lot of cans and bottles.

Right, here is how it works in Germany and there is no reason why we cannot do the same:

- You pay a deposit on return-compatible bottles only.  These are generally heavier and stronger meaning they can be used a few times before chucking.  Non-compatible bottles do not have a deposit but I think they might have a surcharge on them or a higher rate of VAT.
- When you return the bottles you scan them in to a machine either one by one, or in the case of bottled beer this can be by the crate which is scanned, checked and weighed by the machine.  You get a ticket for the items you return which is 100% of the deposit price paid.
- You can either use this ticket to get money off your next purchase at the till of that very shop or get money back at the till.  Most use against their next shop, the only time i asked for cash was when I left Germany although I did keep a couple of crates for the brewery.
- The only items you put in your recycling bin are those which do not require a deposit, the surcharge is ring-fenced toward the recycling costs.  Recycling is very strict in Germany but it is uniform across each state.  if you have recycling items in the general rubbish bin, or visa-versa, they are not collected until you sort out the problem.
- In some cities there are voluntary boxes in the street where you can put bottles, etc which have a deposit paid and the homeless can take them to get the money.  This is good if you are passing through and you dont want to carry an empty bottle all the way home.

[deviator]

In Yankistan, the supermarkets have a machine outside. You scan the barcode as you are placing the item into the recycling bin. Once you've done, you hit print and get a barcoded piece of paper with the value of the returns on it to spend in the shop.

I can only presume that as we would be dealing with the recycling ourselves, our council tax will be reduced as we won't need the recycling bin collected. (I have no idea how I wrote that without laughing uncontrollably).

[STEMO]

Do you really think our poor, destitute government are going to fork out to put recycling machines on every Main Street in the country? I presume these machines have a receptacle behind them for the bottles....like an effing great skip. Space might be a problem, and who empties them?

Call me cynical, cause I am, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[ronnyd]

With all the plastic floating in the seas around our coast, perhaps our fishing fleet should be trawling/fishing for that, instead of, er fish? Might be more lucrative.

[STEMO]

With all the plastic floating in the seas around our coast, perhaps our fishing fleet should be trawling/fishing for that, instead of, er fish? Might be more lucrative.

At 20p per bottle, you're probably right, Ronny