The amount of waste produced in the UK needs to be reduced, the LGA has said, in response to a government announcement on deposit return schemes.
A new cash incentive system, placing deposits on drinks bottles and cans, was announced in late January by Environment Minister Rebecca Pow.
The scheme, covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is set to be introduced in 2025, and will allow people to recycle their drinks containers via ‘reverse vending machines’ sited at the retailers who sold them.
Every year, UK consumers use around 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion drinks cans, many of which are dropped as litter or condemned to landfill.
Cllr David Renard, the LGA’s Environment Spokesperson, said: “Councils are pleased to see some further details for how the deposit return schemes (DRS) would work, but need to understand how the implementation of DRS will work alongside other planned waste reforms, such as the plans for packagers to pay for waste processing.
“Deposit return schemes are another way of collecting waste, but they do not reduce the amount of packaging or require producers and retailers to reduce the amount of waste.
“We want to prioritise plans to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place.
“Councils look forward to working with government and partners on wider waste reforms as a whole, focused on ensuring councils can respond to the needs of local communities in moving towards a circular and zero carbon economy.”