#PAININTHEGLASS - CHARITY CAMPAIGNS FOR GOVERNMENT TO RETHINK DEPOSIT RETURN SCHEME

Keep Britain Tidy has called on the Government to act on public concern about the exclusion of glass from Deposit Return Scheme.

Nearly 1,000 people have written to their MPs urging them to act after a Keep Britain Tidy campaign revealed the dangers of broken glass in the environment.

The Government is planning to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme, which will see consumers incentivised by a small payment to return empty single-use drinks containers to a return point in order to increase the recycling rate of drinks containers and reduce littering.

While the environmental charity broadly supports the scheme, it launched the #PainInTheGlass campaign in response to the UK government’s current plans to exclude glass from the scheme in England and Northern Ireland.

Wales and Scotland will capture glass bottles in their Deposit Return Schemes, where the priority has been clearly set to reduce littering and increase recycling rates. However, in England and Northern Ireland, ministers want to exclude glass on the grounds of Health and Safety concerns regarding retailers handling broken glass

Keep Britain Tidy believes broken glass in the natural environment poses a far greater danger to the safety of animals, children and adults than to retailers trained to handle the material.

As an example, last Halloween, a child playing in the grass at River Lawn park in Tonbridge, Kent, had to be rushed to A and E having been cut on broken glass.

And in Norwich, a dog owner was forced to pay £4,000 in vet bills after some glass which had been left in the bush severed eight tendons in the paw of her dog.

In April 2022, the charity launched the #PainInTheGlass campaign, asking the public to share their experiences with glass in the environment and to contact their MPs to let them know that they wanted broken glass out of the environment and into the Government’s Deposit Return Scheme – this has prompted nearly 1,000 people to write to their MPs to ask them to act.

The public’s concern on this issue is reinforced by a YouGov survey from May 2022 - when asked which materials should be included in a Deposit Return Scheme, glass bottles were the most requested (78%), above plastic bottles (74%) and aluminium cans (70%).

There is also a significant carbon saving from using recycled versus virgin glass.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Chef Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: “A plastic bottle isn’t likely to cause injury, and can be picked up and put in the bin. When it comes to broken glass, it’s a different story entirely.

 “People across the country have contacted us to share how family members or pets been endangered by littered glass, as well as our volunteers who struggle with removing broken glass from the environment as it cuts through plastic waste bags.

“We know that the Deposit Return Scheme is very successful in reducing littering of products with a deposit on them so the exclusion of glass from the proposed scheme represents a real missed opportunity to make our environment safer and to increase recycling rates for glass containers. England and Northern Ireland will fall behind Scotland and Wales, who both intend to include glass in their schemes.”

“Excluding something so dangerous to people and to wildlife sends the wrong message to the public, suggesting that it is not a waste and litter priority, and ultimately meaning it will continue to pose a threat on our streets, coasts and green spaces.

“We reiterate our call that the Government urgently reconsiders including glass bottles in the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme design.”

Keep Britain Tidy has now submitted a report on its #PainInTheGlass campaign to Defra. You can read it on our website here.