CPRE Loses Its Bottle?

The countryside pressure group, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)

, largely made up of country landowners and the rural well heeled' has entered the debate, regarding the conservation of natural resources and reduction of litter, through introducing a deposit return scheme on glass and plastic bottles.

The CPRE is calling for a deposit of 15p on bottles up to half a litre and 30p for larger sizes. They calculate that the saving could save the public sector around 160million per year.

Those like me who are able to recall the good old days' when many glass drinks bottles could be returned to a local retailer, where you could receive the deposit back paid on the bottle at the time of purchase, may think it a good idea. There is certainly nothing wrong with trying to introduce a deposit system that would reduce the quantity of glass and plastic land filled by more effective recycling. In addition, any scheme that would reduce the quantity of litter on the streets is also welcome.

The CPRE are however stuck in the post war days and are viewing the scheme through rose tinted glasses', reflecting by the social class and age group of its membership.

I am not sure how CPRE arrived at its conclusion that 160million per year (equivalent to 7 per household per year) could be saved from implementing their suggestions. It may be by analyzing the annual cost to the tax payer from land fill of glass and plastic bottle waste?

CPRE suggest that the deposit would be payable when the drinks bottle is dropped off at an "authorised site." However, there is already an effective glass bottle recycling system in place throughout the UK, where the public are able to take glass bottles for recycling.

If the CPRE are suggesting that the thousands of local bring recycling sites be used as authorised sites', then they would need to be manned, to prevent unscrupulous individuals using the recycling centre as a source of income, by taking bottles elsewhere to claim deposit. The sites would also need to be fenced.

If more centralized authorised sites' are used, then it would be necessary to close the already effective glass bring recycling network in place now, from which many small rural communities enjoy a recycling payment' from their local authority for providing the facility.

Most drinks bottles these days are made from light but durable plastic. Providing authorized sites to collect these bottles makes no sense environmentally. The energy used to collect and then deliver plastic bottles to a reprocessing site, would exceed the energy embedded making the product in the first place.

Although the intentions of the CPRE are laudable and in an ideal world we would have zero waste and litter, the CPRE membership themselves are likely to object to planning application for authorised site' if proposed in the countryside.

CPRE Loses Its Bottle?

By: Bill Bloggs

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