Shadow Environment Minister calls for action on a deposit return scheme

In an impassioned debate today, Janet Finch-Saunders MS – Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Rural Affairs – made compelling arguments for the swift introduction of a deposit return scheme (DRS) in Wales.

The basis of a DRS is relatively simple: when you purchase a drink in a single-use container you pay a nominal fee as a deposit. On returning the container you receive your deposit back.

The gold standard for DRS is in Norway, which has been in operation since the early 2000s. Some 97 percent of all plastic drink bottles are returned and less than one percent of all plastic bottles sold in Norway end up in the environment. It is estimated that 92 percent of all plastic bottles returned are recycled back into plastic bottles.

Mrs Finch-Saunders, leading the debate, said:

“Welsh Conservatives have been calling for this for years, and we have had a long-running and successful survey on the related subject of banning single-use plastics up on our website for a number of years.

“We’ve taken inspiration from schemes around the world, including Norway’s. However, these are all actually recycled ideas.

“Those of a certain age may remember in the 1970s that you could take back empty pop bottles to a shop or off licence and be refunded a penny or two. It was a way of supplementing pocket money, the system helped keep litter down, and encouraged green habits long before recycling became a buzzword.”

Mrs Finch-Saunders said that she was “… astounded that the process is taking so long in Wales”, adding:

“We’ve been calling for this since 2016, and yes, I acknowledge that the last eight months have seen most attention focused elsewhere, but Wales can’t wait – and neither can the environment.”

Closing the debate, Mrs Finch-Saunders said she hoped all Members would “… get behind the legislative proposal, give it their support, and go forward positively and as one Senedd as we end what has been an awful year”.