English councils could save up to £35m a year by introducing a deposit refund system for drinks bottles and cans, according to a recent report.
New data states there are no longer any valid arguments that deposit refund systems don’t work and the environmental case is crystal clear, according to Sky News.
The potential rewards reach a much wider audience than just English Councils. Businesses which also adopt similar recycling schemes could also reap the financial and social rewards. Unisan UK has been following this debate and supports the promotion of what some call reverse vending. A solution which financially rewards those who recycle plastic, drink cans and the like already exists here in the UK.
CafeCrush has been adopted by major UK brands such as ISS Facilities in London. See below images. ISS Facilities programmed the machine to issue a 5p donation to their corporate charity – The Prince’s Trust – on receipt of a bottle or can. This works to link environmentally positive actions to socially positive ones and enables increased engagement among their employees. It also works as a visual symbol of ISS’ commitment to resource efficiency and is in pride of place in the site’s restaurant.
CafeCrush, and off the shelf bottle deposit return machine, could help a wide range of businesses adopt their own recycling scheme, such as:
- Call Centres
- Supermarkets – incentivising with points
- Leisure Centres
- Schools and Universities
- Transport hubs such as bus, rail and airports
- Staff Canteens – possibly adopting the same approach as ISS Facilities.
- etc etc etc