PKG0084

Written evidence submitted by Keep Britain Tidy

We are the nation’s leading anti-litter charity. We have campaigned on the issue of litter for over 60 years and have a wealth of expertise and intelligence on the issue and potential solutions. Our core aims are to eliminate littering, prevent waste and create great public space. We manage a number of campaigns and programmes to achieve these aims such as the Great British Spring Clean, Green Flag Award for Parks, Blue Flag Award for beaches and Eco-Schools. We also create new innovation and solutions for local authorities and other land managers through our award winning Centre for Social Innovation and our professional Local Authority Network.

Executive Summary

We believe that plastic bottles and coffee cups are a significant contributor to litter in our country

We believe that they have social and aesthetic impacts in addition to environmental impacts

We believe that members of the public want to see these items collected and recycled, not littered

We believe that business is making great strides to improve the collection and recycling of these products

However, we believe that much more needs to be done

We believe that government can play a role in championing both national policy and new interventions that can help local authorities, industry and NGOs create a step change in the collection and recycling of these products and therefore reduce littering as a result

Impact

•                               What is the environmental impact of waste from coffee cups and plastic bottles? Are the rates of use, collection levels and recycling levels of these products increasing or decreasing over time?

Plastic bottles

1.1 Thirteen billion plastic bottles were put to market in the UK in 2015, but only 7.5 billion were collected for recycling, with 5.5 billion left uncollected. This gives a recycling rate for bottles of only 57%, a rate which has slowed over the past five years after rapid growth from 2003 onwards.[1] This figure represents the bottles collected from the household, via the kerbside collection system or from recycling centres and bring banks. It also represents a variety of plastic bottle types including drink bottles, milk bottles, cleaning and cosmetics bottles, all made from different grades of plastic. For example, while drink bottles are usually made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), milk bottles are usually made of HDPE (high-density polyethylene).

1.2 Almost all UK local authorities now have a kerbside recycling service for plastic bottles and we assert that it is the provision of this service that has led to the rapid increase in recycling of plastic bottles to the current figure of 57%.

1.3 Our further assertion is that the majority of the 5.5 billion bottles that are not recycled comprise plastic bottles used for water and other non-alcoholic drinks and sold for consumption ‘on the go’ i.e. away from home. The majority of these bottles are made from PET. The first PET bottle was introduced in 1973[2] and since that time PET has become the most common packaging material used for drinks consumed ‘on the go’.[3].

1.4 In terms of environmental impact, plastic bottles incorrectly disposed of to a residual waste bin at home (rather than being recycled) will be collected by a local authority and transferred to landfill or an energy-from-waste incinerator. Likewise, plastic bottles deposited in street litter bins are collected by local authorities and usually sent straight to landfill or incineration as attempts to further sort mixed residual waste for recycling has met with limited success[4]. Plastic bottles that are littered are not only unsightly but can enter the aquatic and marine environment via drains, culverts, rivers or through direct littering at the coast. Keep Britain Tidy is currently working with partners in the Clean Europe Network, a collaborative network of the key European litter prevention organisations, to develop a tool that can help assess the means by which litter enters the aquatic environment[5] and further work is now needed to pilot this tool. However, while further research is undoubtedly needed to establish the source, pathways and destinations of these bottles, it is highly likely that every year in the UK 5.5 billion end up in our natural environment or in landfill/incinerators.

1.5 Data collected by Keep Britain Tidy suggests that plastic bottles are a major contributor to both reported litter and the public’s perceptions of how heavily littered an area is.

1.6 Our LEQSE report (Local Environmental Quality Survey of England), last undertaken in 2014/15 on behalf of Defra, analysed data from a survey of 7,200 sites across a range of land types in England. Each site is surveyed using a 50-metre transect. The survey recorded the presence or absence of specific types of litter on each of the 7,200 sites, together with a count of individual litter items on some of the sites. The report demonstrated that soft drinks litter (which includes cans, bottles and cartons) was the third most prevalent type of litter, found on more than 52% of sites.[6] In addition, the raw survey data provided specific data for plastic bottles. Of the 7,200 sites surveyed, 24% of them (1,727 sites) had plastic bottles littered on them. In total 3,622 plastic bottles were recorded across the 1,727 sites, an average of 2.1 bottles per survey site where bottles were present.

1.7 In a survey undertaken in 2014 by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of INCPEN (The Industry Council for Research on Packaging and the Environment), 480 sites were surveyed for litter[7]. A different methodology to that employed in the LEQSE was used. The actual number of individual pieces of litter, associated with a particular litter type, was recorded on all of the sites. As expected cigarette butts and chewing gum staining were the most commonly recorded items in significantly greater quantities than other litter items. When discounting these items from the analysis, drinks litter (cans, bottles, caps and straws) represented 23.9% of the overall litter types found, with bottles making up 5.4% of the overall litter. This does not distinguish between glass and plastic, although we assert that the majority of water and soft drinks bottles are sold in PET plastic, not glass. Analysis of the raw data shows that 25% (or 121 sites) were littered with non-alcoholic bottles. In total there were 202 bottles across the 121 sites, an average of 1.67 bottles per site where bottles were present.

1.8 Keep Britain Tidy asserts that the presence of litter on the ground encourages other people to litter also. This follows the broken windows theory[8], in that minor offences and incivilities create a sense that an area is uncared for, leading the community to withdraw from intervening and thus encouraging further offending. Researchers have found that the presence of litter has a similar effect, acting as both an environment cue (indicating the cleanliness of the site) and a social norming cue (implying a level of social acceptability towards littering at the site)[9]. We explored this concept further in our research ‘Beacons of Litter’[10], which tested whether certain types of litter attract greater rates of littering than other litter types. We set up three sites – two planted with different types of litter and one acting as a ‘control’ in the experiment – and observed people’s behaviours over a two week period, rotating the condition being tested at each site. Under the first condition, the site was planted with what we termed ‘beacons’ litter – larger colourful waste types such as coffee cups, fast-food packaging and plastic bottles, based on our previous research that had found that people perceive these litter types to be more prevalent and prominent than others[11]. Under the second, the site was planted with the same amount of ‘other’ types of litter – smaller, less colourful items, such as receipts, tissues and cigarette packaging. Overall, the largest amount of additional littering occurred on the ‘beacons’ site, with 35% of people observed disposing of waste, littering it. This compared with 22% on the ‘other litter’ site, and 17% on the litter-free control site. Littering of additional ‘beacons’ items, such as fast food and drinks packaging, was also highest where other ‘beacons’ litter was present (41%), compared with the ‘other litter’ (11%) and litter-free control site (10%). The research  suggests that the presence of large, salient litter items increases the likelihood of additional litter being dropped and reducing the amount of these litter items on the ground could potentially reduce overall littering rates in that area. Therefore, we assert that while plastic bottles (and indeed coffee cups) are not the most littered items in the country, they are one of the most visible items littered, with instantly recognisable branding, and their presence creates disproportionately more littering as a result.

1.9 This assertion is further backed up by the results from our evaluation report from the Clean for The Queen campaign carried out in 2016. Almost 250,000 people participated in the clean-up, collecting 300,000 bags of litter. We undertook a survey with a sample of those people who took part to obtain feedback and understand their own perspectives on the litter they were collecting.[12] Respondents were asked to note the three litter types that they most frequently observed during their Clean for The Queen event by selecting them from a list provided. The three litter types perceived to be most common were soft drinks litter (cans, bottles, cartons – non-alcoholic) 66%, alcoholic drinks litter (cans, bottles) 57% and confectionery wrappers (sweet wrappers, chocolate bar wrappers, crisp packets) 54%.  This suggests that even though soft drinks and alcoholic litter are not as prevalent as cigarette butts or chewing gum, they are more highly visible and noticed more by members of the public, supporting the assertion that their presence encourages people to notice litter and may, in turn, result in additional littering.

1.10 In addition to being unsightly and spoiling the aesthetic of landscapes, plastic bottles represent a threat to wildlife in the marine environment. The abundance of micro-plastics in the north-east Atlantic increased significantly between 1960 and 2000, with PET the most common type of plastic encountered.[13] Research illustrates that PET bottles will degrade over time, creating smaller fragments and microplastics[14] and it is estimated there are around five trillion individual microplastics within the Earth’s ocean.[15] Further research has demonstrated harm to marine wildlife as a result of ingesting microplastics[16] and that plastics can actually give off odours leading seabirds to ingest it mistakenly for food.[17] This is supported by work demonstrating that around 90% of seabirds may have ingested plastic[18], which has the potential to adsorb toxic chemicals such as PCB, which are then ingested by sea birds.[19]

Coffee Cups

1.11 The number of coffee outlets in the UK has grown substantially from around 5,000 in 1999 to more than 20,000 in 2016[20]. Costa has the most outlets in the UK with more than 2,000 retail sites and more than 6,000 Costa Express vending facilities, the majority of which are in England.[21]

1.12 The Food Service Packaging Industry’s trade association estimates that 2.5 billion paper coffee cups are now used in the UK every year.[22] Estimates suggest that less than one percent of these cups are collected for recycling.[23]

1.13 Keep Britain Tidy does not have specific figures for the proportion of coffee cups that end up littered. The only data snapshot we have is from the City of London. In a survey of litter on 900 sites across the City in 2016/17, 170 sites had some form of branded coffee item littered on them, which includes the cups themselves, but could also include branded napkins or lids.

1.14 However, we assert that if less than 1% of coffee cups are being recycled, then the vast majority of paper cups are ending up littered or in on-street litter bins and therefore going to landfill or energy-from-waste incineration. Paper coffee cups are produced from high-quality, food-grade paper and when recycled the resultant pulp is of a high quality and in our opinion should be collected and recycled.

1.15 We also assert that more work is needed to reduce the overall use of paper coffee cups. The waste hierarchy is enshrined in law (EU Waste Framework Directive and transposed into UK law through the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011). Applying the waste hierarchy, we should aim to firstly reduce the number of cups taken by the public and then recycle the remaining paper cups. Encouraging the public to make greater use of refillable coffee cups and normalising their use should be a priority alongside improving the collection and recycling of paper cups.

•                               What are the challenges of recycling these products? What obstacles have prevented greater progress in increasing recycling rates?

Plastic Bottles

2.1 PET bottles are readily recyclable and if collected in a clean state can be processed and recovered into recycled PET. Indeed, since 2001 recycling rates in the UK have increased from around 10% to 44%. However rates have flat-lined in the past five years and indeed fell in 2016 in England for the first time[24]. While an excellent kerbside collection system now exists throughout England, we assert that improvements to consistency of kerbside collections schemes would reduce consumer confusion around what plastics can and can’t be recycled and increase recycling from home. A recent report from WRAP highlights the confusion with 49% of householders reporting they have disposed of one or more recyclable items in the residual waste bin and 66% reporting confusion on how to dispose of one or more waste items.[25]. In Keep Britain Tidy’s 2020 strategy we call for a the introduction of a blueprint for recycling in England[26], with consideration given to greater consistency of collection frequency, greater uniformity of waste types collected and consistent colour schemes for receptacles. This would allow uniform and consistent messaging at both national and local level on how to recycle effectively. This work has also been considered in greater detail by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme)[27].

2.2 Unlike the kerbside recycling system for household waste, there is no comparable widespread and accessible infrastructure available for collecting plastic bottles consumed ‘on the go’ and away from home. We assert that the greater improvement in recycling rates could be achieved by improving the infrastructure available for collecting these bottles. The current network of on-street recycling bins for bottles is patchy in coverage, bins differ in design and colour and anecdotal reports from waste managers in local authorities suggest they are subject to high degrees of contamination (when members of the public place the wrong waste items in the relevant bin), which can lead to the entire contents of the bins being sent for disposal rather than recycling. We assert that a system for consistent collection of bottles consumed on the go could significantly boost current rates of collection and recycling from the current figure of 57%.

Coffee Cups

2.3 The poor recycling rate for coffee cups is primarily due to the PE (polyethylene) liner inside the cup. This liner provides a barrier to liquids and stops coffee soaking into the paper. Operators of paper mills report that this PE liner is problematic to remove from the paper and makes recycling within conventional paper mills impracticable.[28] Dedicated paper mills are able to offer a paper cup recycling service, however, they are limited in number.[29]

2.4 Research is ongoing into different types of paper cups that either have a more easily detachable PE liner or no PE liner at all (see later sections 5.6 and 5.7). However, if the current PE-lined cups are likely to remain the predominant paper cup on the market then we assert that work is required to provide dedicated collection points for coffee cups, either in-store or on the street, which encourage responsible disposal of paper cups and in large volumes for recycling. This, in turn, would allow more paper mill manufacturers to invest in dedicated recycling facilities. The government needs to consider whether current industry initiatives can provide this scale or whether legislation and investment is required to further drive this process.

Progress

•                               Are consumers aware of the complexities of recycling these products? How could we increase awareness amongst the public and what impact would this have?

Plastic Bottles

3.1 We believe that plastic bottles are readily recognised as capable of being recycled as they are collected at the kerbside by almost all local authorities. Furthermore, Keep Britain Tidy undertakes a number of surveys involving householders and their knowledge of recycling and plastic bottles are often the most commonly recycled item which residents report on the doorstep.

3.2 We believe that WRAP’s Recycle Now campaign [30] has been an excellent tool for raising awareness and creating uniformity of signage and message on the specifics of what can and can’t be accepted for recycling. However, we assert that additional communication and education is unlikely to deliver substantial increases in rates of recycling without investment in and development of the underpinning recycling infrastructure for both household kerbside collections and recycling on the go. 

Coffee Cups

3.3 We believe that until recently consumers were largely unaware as to whether coffee cups could be recycled or not. Media coverage through 2016 on the back of the campaign developed by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall[31] has helped raise the profile of this issue with the general public. However, in the absence of nationally consistent solutions and with a number of industry interventions and trials ongoing, we assert that many members of the public may still be confused.

3.4 We believe that there is no particular benefit in explaining the complexities of recycling paper cups. We assert that government, industry, local authorities and NGOs need to work together to develop a cohesive system for collection and recycling of cups and then develop a national message on cup recycling that can be used by a range of stakeholders.

3.5 A number of key organisations, including McDonald’s and Costa, are already undertaking initiatives aimed at recovering paper cups (see later section 4.5) and we would like to see more organisations develop initiatives, in order to provide additional learning in support of a nationally consistent solution.

•                               What actions are being undertaken by industry to reduce waste generated by coffee cups and plastic bottles? How effective have these initiatives been? How could the Government better support these initiatives?

Plastic Bottles

4.1 The Pledge 4 Plastics campaign [32] is an industry-led response to the issue of improving collection and recycling rates focused on education and communication. We are not aware what outcomes or successes are cited by the campaign.

4.2 Keep Britain Tidy is currently working with Harrogate Spring Water to look at creative mechanisms for improving the public’s awareness of the need to recycle plastic and how people can be encouraged to recycle their used plastic bottle rather than litter it or put it in an on-street litter bin. This work is currently being developed.

4.3 Importantly, consideration needs to be given to reducing the overall use of plastic bottles, in addition to more effective collection and recycling post-use. Keep Britain Tidy is currently working with Brita to understand how we can encourage both greater use of reusable bottles for water and further encourage more retail locations to offer refills of tap water. This research is currently being undertaken and a report will be issued this year.

Coffee Cups

4.4 Keep Britain Tidy works closely with a number of the corporate organisations involved in the sale of coffee to the public[33]. In particular, we have good working relationships with both Costa Coffee and McDonald’s, who are both signatories to the Keep Britain Tidy Litter Prevention Commitment[34] which encourages responsible businesses to work with us in developing research and innovation aimed at preventing littering.

4.5 We endorse the work being undertaken by both McDonald’s and Costa in response to the issue of paper coffee cups. McDonald’s are rolling out in-store recycling stations across all of their stores and paper cups collected in-store are being sent to James Cropper Paper Mill for dedicated recycling of both the paper cups and PE liner.[35] Costa have developed a scheme for recovery and recycling of all paper cups disposed of in-store (including non-Costa cups), which has now been rolled out across almost 2,000 Costa stores UK-wide.[36]

4.6 We are not aware as yet, how effective these schemes have been, although they should provide a mechanism for collection and recycling of a high percentage of cups used in-store, or, in the case of Costa, brought into store from outside.

4.7 We assert that there is still a need to support these schemes with a network of on-street recycling bins for coffee cups. The #1moreshot campaign developed by the charity Hubbub working with the paper cup recycler Simply Cups was supported by a range of corporate organisations. The project ran in Manchester and collected 30,000 cups, developing some key learning along the way.[37] The recycled cups are transformed into plastic pellets that can be used to create various plastic products. However, Keep Britain Tidy considers that the better recycling option is to recover the paper and PE liner separately and produce high-quality paper pulp for re-use within the paper industry, rather than down-cycling the paper cups into a plastic polymer.

4.8 Throughout 2016 and early 2017, Costa partnered with Keep Britain Tidy in a campaign to donate 25p from the sale of each coffee taken by a customer in a refillable and reusable cup. In England alone, this scheme saved 90,000 paper cups. However, it is unclear how many customers were already using their own refillable cup and how many were encouraged to start using one as a result of the campaign.

4.9 Costa is now offering 25p off the price of a cup of coffee when a customer uses their own refillable coffee cup. We believe that this incentive combined with the potential to buy refillable cups in-store and supported by in-store recycling of paper cups offers the potential for genuine change in customer habits. The potential effectiveness of this combination of incentives and interventions is supported by recent research from Cardiff University which found that the largest decrease in paper cups taken by customers was achieved through a measure of price incentive and opportunity to take a refillable cup[38]. However, the refillable/reusable cups were provided free of charge in the study and the research indicated that increasing the price of a coffee in a paper cup encouraged the greatest reduction in use, as compared to reducing the price of coffee in a refillable cup.

4.10 Following the campaign launched by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in 2016 to encourage greater recycling of paper coffee cups, the packaging and retail companies involved in the production and use of paper cups develop a co-ordinated response and a paper cup manifesto, under the umbrella of the PCRRG (Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group)[39]. Keep Britain Tidy is a member of this group, although note that our organisation view does not always concord entirely with the view taken by the PCRRG. We do encourage government to work with the PCRRG in determining the effectiveness of the various interventions being trialled and rolled out and secure support from more industry partners to take forward the most effective measures. We assert that any policy development or informal encouragement offered by government should ensure that the primary goal is to firstly reduce the amount of paper cups used and then encourage high rates of collection and recycling where paper cups are used. We also assert that any recycling process ensures that the high-grade paper used in manufacturing the cups is recovered as pulp for further use within the paper industry, potentially reducing demand on commercial forestry timber used in paper production, not down-cycled into a potentially lower-grade product.

•                               How effective, to date, have Government and local government led initiatives (such as #1MoreShot) been at reducing waste and increasing the recycling of coffee cups and plastic bottles? What progress has been made to develop a viable, recyclable alternative to the polyethylene coated paper cup? What are the pros and cons of the use of such cups?

Plastic Bottles

5.1 A number of current initiatives aim to encourage greater use of refillable bottles such as Refill [40]. This was originally developed as part of a Keep Britain Tidy initiative in Cornwall and provides refillable water bottles to members of the public, at the same time as encouraging local businesses to sign up to a local register of locations offering free tap water refills. Similar schemes also operate such as Give me Tap [41]. We are unaware of any data related to a reduction in use of plastic bottles as a result, although we assert that when considered at a national level any reductions are likely to be small, until such schemes are able to operate at scale. There is also no national campaign from government or industry, that we are aware of, that promotes the benefit of using a refillable bottle to reduce plastic bottle consumption, limiting consumer awareness of such schemes.

Coffee Cups

5.2 The #1MoreShot campaign in Manchester resulted in the separate collection and recycling of 30,000 coffee cups. A second campaign is now rolling out in the City of London and the #SquareMileChallenge[42] aims to collect even more coffee cups.

5.3 Keep Britain Tidy welcomes such collaborative schemes. However, we are uncertain how this initiative could move beyond initial pilots or whether industry is willing to fund a national network of on-street collection bins, together with the costs of collection and recycling, or whether additional investment will need to be sought from other sources.

5.4 In addition, we would welcome any scaling of these schemes taking into account the most environmentally advantageous recycling process. We assert that this should include the recovery of recycled paper pulp and the PE liner separately and not pulping both materials together to produce plastic pellets.

5.5 Keep Britain Tidy asserts that development and scaling of biodegradable cups should be discouraged. We believe this could encourage littering if the public consider they will biodegrade naturally in the environment.

5.6 Keep Britain Tidy is aware that alternatives to the current PE liner used in cups are being developed. These include the Frugalcup, which has a PE liner that is more loosely bonded to the paper cup, allowing for easier separation in the recycling process. In addition we understand that recycled paper is used in the cup, rather than virgin paper.[43] We have no information on the success of this cup or industry’s view on its acceptability to customers and recyclers.

5.7 Work is ongoing in Finland at Kotkamills to develop a paper cup without the PE liner but with an alternative coating that prevents the paper absorbing hot or cold liquid held in the cup[44]. We understand that the lack of a PE liner would in theory allow all paper cups to be recycled through the existing paper mill infrastructure, without the need for specialist paper mill recycling plants capable for separating the current PE liner in coffee cups. We are unaware of the current status of this initiative.

•                               What is the likely impact of leaving the EU on UK efforts to reduce coffee cup and plastic bottle waste?

Plastic Bottles and Coffee Cups

5.8 Keep Britain Tidy is concerned that a failure to transpose the requirements of the Circular Economy Package into UK legislation could potentially result in a decline in waste prevention and recycling. However, Brexit does present an opportunity to not only transpose the Circular Economy package into UK law but to go even further and consider how best to implement new ambitious targets for waste prevention and recycling within a UK context.

5.9 We are not currently meeting the 50% recycling target for household waste enshrined in the EU Waste Framework Directive [45]and any step away from more stretching targets for 2025 and beyond will create investment uncertainty within industry. This could potentially limit investment in infrastructure development and also potentially encourage local authorities to reduce spend on collection and recycling of waste in the absence of statutory national targets.

Solutions

•                               What initiatives could be utilised to reduce coffee cup and plastic bottle waste or to lessen the impact of this waste? In particular what are the opportunities and risks associated with:
  — Incentives to encourage the use of re-usable alternatives for these products.
  — Charge, taxes, deposits or levies on the use of these products.

Plastic Bottles

6.1 We have no current evidence on how incentives can be successfully used to encourage greater use of reusable, refillable bottles on the go (away from home), although clearly some people may make use of these bottles if they become aware that tap water is available from a range of providers as a free alternative to bottled water. We are undertaking research with Brita to better understand where the public can access free tap water and also their willingness to ask for free tap water. We understand that UK legislation currently only requires licensed premises to offer free tap water. We believe this could be expanded to cover more food and drink retail premises and if backed by a public information campaign could generate more use of refillable bottles.

6.2 Refillable glasses or bottles are offered at events and attractions such as Twickenham and Alton Towers. In the case of Alton Towers, these are bought at Coca-Cola Refill Stations and soft drinks refills are then available free all day [46]. At Twickenham a deposit is paid for a refillable plastic glass which can be redeemed at the end of the event [47]. Similar consideration could be given to bottled drinks at all sporting event and attractions.

6.3 A deposit placed on single-use plastic bottles and redeemed once the bottle is returned to a collection point operates effectively is many countries around the world. Keep Britain Tidy suggests that, subject to further investigation and in particular the research currently being undertaken by Keep Britain Tidy (see section 6.6 below), this could offer a homogenous and popular means of recovering and recycling a substantial proportion of the 5.5 billion plastic bottles not currently recycled. Collection and recycling rates of 90% and greater are reported in many countries with deposit schemes, as the plastic bottles are collected in a clean and consistent manner, with little if any residual contamination. An additional benefit is that many schemes around the world collect more than plastic bottles, including glass bottles, aluminium cans and, in some cases, Tetrapak cartons.

6.4 Furthermore, public acceptance of well-designed charges or deposits appears to be increasing after the successful implementation of the carrier bag charge throughout the UK[48]

6.5 There are clearly costs and risks to be considered before implementing such a deposit system for plastic bottles. Work has already been undertaken in England to investigate how such a scheme could be implemented[49] and more recently in Scotland[50]. We understand the primary risks identified by a consultation in Scotland centre on operational impacts on packaging producers and retailers and the potential impact on the well-established kerbside collection system.[51]

6.6 Local authorities in particular are concerned to better understand how a deposit return scheme might impact on the household kerbside collection service for recycling. [52] Keep Britain Tidy shares this concern and we are keen to understand the benefits and risks in more detail. Plastic bottles and aluminium cans collected through the existing kerbside collection service are sold on the secondary recycled market and revenue from these sales is often used to support the financing of the recycling and collection service. We are undertaking research into this issue, working with a number of local authorities and waste companies to determine how a deposit scheme might work alongside kerbside collections and any positive or negative operational and cost implications. We expect the full results of this research to be available for publication in early June. However, preliminary findings suggest the following:

6.6.1              a review of international literature on deposit return schemes suggests that municipal waste services are likely to see cost savings

6.6.2              the specific analysis with several local authorities in England suggests that net savings of up to a few hundred thousand pounds are likely to occur within individual local authority areas in England

6.6.3              savings of over £50,000 in the management of street scene services could be expected

6.7 Keep Britain Tidy would welcome a government-led programme to investigate how a deposit return scheme in England could be implemented and how such a scheme could be designed to work effectively alongside existing recycling schemes.

6.8 In addition, Keep Britain Tidy would welcome a review of the current Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, as amended in 2016 and the associated Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) scheme. This scheme requires those involved in the manufacture and supply of packaging to recycle a percentage of this packaging each year. PRNs are provided by approved recyclers and can be bought by obligated companies in proportion to the amount of packaging they are obligated to recycle. In this way a contribution is made to the costs of collection and recycling from companies responsible for placing packaging on to the market. However, analysis illustrates that the scheme in the UK contributes around only 10% of the overall costs of collection and recycling of packaging, which is low when compared to other EU member states[53]. A better designed PRN scheme could elicit potentially more income and/or a more transparent transfer of income between the various partners in the collection and recycling of plastic bottles (and other wastes) in particular to support local authority investment in improved kerbside collection services, alongside additional benefits such as incentivising companies that use recycled product in their bottles.

6.9 Keep Britain Tidy would welcome a government review of the existing PRN scheme with a view to developing a scheme that provides additional finance for improving the current collection and recycling infrastructure.

Coffee Cups

6.10 Keep Britain Tidy welcomes Costa’s introduction of a 25p discount for customers using their own refillable cup and we believe that the success of this initiative should be investigated in terms of how many people are encouraged to use a refillable cup for the first time. Based on the outcome, we would like to see government encourage the industry sector to embrace this incentive-based mechanism for reducing paper cup demand. Keep Britain Tidy stands ready to work with all industry retail partners to promote these incentives to the public and encourage greater use of reusable/refillable cups as a primary mechanism for reducing paper cup use.

6.11 While initiatives from companies such as McDonald’s and Costa to collect and recycle paper cups in-store are welcomed, Keep Britain Tidy asserts that, in the absence of a widely used alternative to paper cups with a tightly bonded PE liner, on-street provision of dedicated coffee cup bins will be required if the public is to be given the means of easily recycling cups in accessible bins. In addition, the collection and recycling of cups will also need to be financed.

6.12 We assert that this cost should not fall to local authorities, many of which are already reducing services in response to declining budgets. 

6.13 In line with the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility[54], we would welcome cross-industry support for financing this system of on-street bins plus the collection and recycling of the paper cups. In particular, government may wish to consider whether the proceeds from a small charge or levy applied to single-use paper cups could provide the finding required to support the development of a national network of bins, collection rounds and recycling.

6.14 We believe the application of such a system, alongside discounts for customers using their own reusable/refillable cups, provides the most effective mechanism for rapidly reducing paper cups use and recycling a high number of those paper cups still used by customers.

6.15 We also believe that this initiative would be popular with the public, based on the outcome of the single-use carrier bag charge, which reduced use of thin film plastic carrier bags by 85% [55]. Additionally, research from Cardiff University indicates that the public are now willing to consider other charges to drive environmental improvements.[56]

6.16 If a viable alternative to the PE-lined paper cup is deemed acceptable for use on the UK market by coffee retailers, then there may be no requirement for a network of dedicated coffee cup bins, if any replacement cup can be collected and recycled within the existing recycling infrastructure. However, given the lack of a uniform on-street recycling system and problems with contamination, we assert that there is still a need to consider how to effectively collect coffee cups for recycling, irrespective of whether the cups have PE liner or not.

•                               How can we encourage households, businesses, food and drink outlets, and offices to change behaviours or introduce policies to reduce their coffee cup and plastic bottle waste?

Plastic Bottles

7.1 We assert that encouraging a wider variety of food and drink retail outlets to offer free tap water and developing a national public information campaign in support would encourage more people to carry a refillable water bottle with them and have the confidence to ask for free tap water. This could be achieved through legislation or by voluntary commitment from food and drink retailers.

7.2 We believe the examples set by certain events and attraction venues in offering refillable bottles for water, soft drinks or alcohol in bottles that can be bought or which can be returned for a refundable deposit offers a way to reduce plastic bottle waste. In particular, the #OneLess campaign developed by the Zoological Society of London aims to make London the first capital to stop using single-use plastic bottles.[57] Similar campaigns could be developed in other major cities, to encourage a reduction in plastic bottles alongside improved infrastructure for collection and recycling of single-use plastic bottles that continue to be used.

7.3 We also assert that schools should encourage children to use refillable bottles and ensure that drinking water taps or fountains are readily available in school premises. We would welcome working with government and the Department for Education in developing a programme of resources and learning and rolling this out through our Eco-Schools programme[58], the largest environmental education network in the world.

Coffee Cups

7.4 Keep Britain Tidy would encourage industry and business to consider developing and adopting a voluntary charter on use of paper coffee cups. This would extend to moving away from the use of paper cups in offices, as ceramic cups are often available. We would like to see take-up of this scheme supported and championed by government and for all government and local authority offices to support such as scheme also.

7.5 Beyond this, we believe that the mixture of incentives and charges outlined above could provide the disruption needed to change customer behaviour and substantially reduce paper coffee cup use while encouraging much greater collection and recycling of those paper cups still used.

•                               How are other countries working to reduce coffee cup and plastic bottle waste? What examples of best practice are there that the UK could learn from?

Plastic  Bottles

8.1 Deposit return schemes currently operate in a number of countries and territories worldwide, with recycling rates of up to 96% [59].

8.2 In particular, states in Australia have recently started implementing schemes in a bid to boost recycling and reduce littering of drinks container including plastic bottles. In New South Wales an independent report had previously declared that the potential benefits of implementing a deposit scheme far outweighed the costs, with an annualised net economic benefit of between $70 and $100 million.[60]  A later review of the potential impact on the existing kerbside recycling collection service reported that New South Wales Councils could save between $23 and $62 million on recycling costs.[61]

8.3 In Norway, a deposit return scheme has been successfully running for many years with collection and recycling rates of 95% .[62]

8.4 In Lithuania, a deposit return scheme was implemented as recently as 2015 and appears to be working effectively.[63]

8.5 Furthermore, an analysis of existing and proposed Deposit Return Schemes around the world suggested that they can work alongside existing recycling schemes and provide net positive outcomes for local authorities.[64]

8.6 Keep Britain Tidy is interested in schemes that can both improve recovery and recycling of plastic bottles, while reducing instances of littering. Though evidence for reduction in littering is less prevalent than that for increases in recycling, the link would appear logical in that higher collection and recycling rates for plastic bottles is likely to lead to less being littered. Research from the USA suggests this is the case with a number of states reporting not only reduction in instances of bottles being littered but a general reduction in overall littering[65]

Coffee Cups

8.7 While France is moving to ban plastic cups with legislation that will extend to other single-use plastic utensils we are not aware that this will extend to paper cups.[66]

8.8 In New Zealand one café has stopped using paper cups, recognising the financial and environmental savings that they could make.[67]

April 2017