Most of us favour glass being included in deposit return scheme

Mark Hazell, of Jaw Brew, supports a deposit return scheme for glass. (Photo: Iain McLean)

A YouGov survey commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland shows that 85 per cent of people in Scotland say glass bottles should be in the scheme.

Only eight per cent say they should not be included.

Under the recycling scheme, people will pay a 20p deposit when buying drinks in a plastic or glass bottle or a metal can. They will get their money back when they return them to be recycled.

The polling is published by Zero Waste Scotland alongside new online content that helps to make clear the benefits of including glass in the scheme.

The scheme is expected to increase the recycling of glass bottles from around 65 per cent at present to 90 per cent.

Including glass makes a substantial contribution to the environmental benefits of the scheme.

Zero Waste Scotland calculates that the inclusion of glass in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will cut the country’s carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes over the next 25 years.

This makes up nearly a third of the total anticipated carbon savings of the scheme.

Jill Farrell, chief operating officer at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The environmental evidence shows why Scotland is right to include glass in its deposit return scheme from day one.

“People in Scotland want glass to be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme as part of ambitious action to protect our environment.

“Every bottle recycled rather than sent to landfill means carbon savings. At a time of a climate emergency, this is an unmissable opportunity to cut tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon.”

Glass bottles are a big part of Mark Hazell’s beer business.

The founder of Jaw Brewwants to see as much glass recycled as possible and believes the 20p deposit on glass bottles will help make that happen.

“Jaw Brew has always put the environment at the core of what we do so anything that helps make our materials more sustainable is a definite plus for us,” he said.

“I lived in Germany for many years so saw how successful deposit return schemes can be and it’s great that Scotland is set to introduce its own scheme.”