Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, has today welcomed an announcement by the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, that the Government will introduce a plastic bottle deposit scheme.
Similar schemes are in operation across Europe, with the most successful schemes in Norway and Germany, who recycle 97% of their plastic bottles. Ministers have been considering how a similar scheme would operate in the UK since the Autumn.
Currently 3 billion plastic bottles are incinerated, sent to landfill or end up as litter.
Commenting, Caroline said:
“This is great news for the environment and our marine habitats. The UK has lagged behind other countries in this regard for too long and I am pleased the Government is committed to tackling this issue. We have already seen effective action on microbeads and 9 billion fewer plastic bags thanks to the 5p charge so this is the logical next step.
As my challenge to #GiveUpPlasticsForLent comes to a close, there are lots of small lifestyle changes I am going to keep up and I’m delighted to see further action on plastic pollution.”
