Ocean Rescue: Coca-Cola Backs Plastic Bottle Deposit Scheme

The drinks giant says a UK-wide deposit scheme is the key to increasing recycling rates and reducing littering. Britain’s biggest drinks manufacturer says that plastic bottles should be sold with a deposit that is returned when customers bring back the empty. Until recently Coca-Cola viewed deposits on bottles as a threat to its business. But the company now says household “kerbside” recycling has “stalled” and it can’t source enough clean plastic to meet its environmental targets. Julian Hunt, Vice-President of Coca-Cola European Partners said: “Deposits are going to play a role in how we improve packaging recovery. There is no doubt that if we get a well-designed system that works for everybody then our experience from other markets is that it improves the amount of material collected as well as the quality - and those two things are key.”