Greens welcome UK deposit refund scheme announcement

Time for Government to get behind such a scheme here, says Ryan 

The Green Party today welcomed the announcement by the British Government that a deposit refund scheme on drinks containers is to be implemented, and called for the Irish Government to drop their opposition to such a scheme being implemented here.

The Party called for the Government to support their Waste Reduction Bill 2017, which is currently at Committee Stage in the Oireachtas.

Speaking today, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan TD said: “We warmly welcome the announcement from the British Government that a bottle deposit scheme is to be rolled out. It is vitally important that we reduce the levels of plastic waste ending up in the environment, and move towards a more sustainable, circular economy. We also commend the work of our colleagues in the Green Party of England and Wales for keeping plastic waste high on the agenda.

“We’re now calling on the Government to get behind our Waste Reduction Bill, which will introduce a similar scheme here in Ireland. The Bill passed second stage in the Dáil last July, and we want to see it pass through committee stage as soon as possible. If the UK can introduce a deposit return scheme, there is no reason why we can’t do the same. All we need is the political will from Government to see this common sense Bill enacted.”

Every year, over 110 million tonnes of plastic is produced. Of this, up to 43% ends up in landfill. According to the UN, 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into oceans each year. This is equivalent to dumping a truck of plastic into the sea every minute. It is now predicted that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish and that 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic.