Following the commissioning of an independent forecast report, Falkirk Council have announced its plan to put a stop to collection of glass at the kerbside once the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has been installed in August 2023. The Report anticipated DRS would cost the Council £234,000. This is mainly a result of a loss in revenue from the sale of glass, cans and plastic. On the other hand, there are suggestions that the Council could be saving £54,000 as residents would be less likely to contaminate their residual bins with DRS material.
Could this be one of the unintended consequences of DRS? In principle DRS is great because of the volume of recyclable bottles that still end up in the residual waste bin at the kerbside or litter on our streets is still too high. Various other countries like Germany and the Netherlands already have DRS provision for single-use plastic bottles and reusable beer bottles, with the latter now also introducing a DRS for aluminium cans at the end of this month. Research has indicated that over 70% of Scots are positive towards DRS, which is going to be essential to make it work. With recent amendments to the scheme for small business being formalised and the introduction of the DRS in Scotland now very much looking to go ahead next summer, Councils may need to look for other income streams.. or savings, as one of the side effects of DRS might be creating a greater awareness of recycling amongst residents, and less recyclate (and revenue) for councils to collect!
Read about Falkirk Council\’s plans here: https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/falkirk-to-stop-glass-collections-over-234000-drs-loss/