Deposits on Drinks Containers

Aisha: The government wants a twenty-cent deposit on every bottle and can, refunded when you return it. I'm fully behind it, since countries with deposits recycle over ninety percent of containers and we're barely at half that.

Diego: I run a small corner shop, and the return machines cost thousands, take up floor space, and I'd be storing bags of sticky cans in the back. Big supermarkets can absorb that; I can't.

Ravi: My doubt is different: we already have kerbside recycling bins, so the deposit mainly adds a second system on top. People in flats without cars will just lose twenty cents on every drink because carrying bottles back is a hassle.

Aisha: Kerbside bins collect maybe half, and a lot of what's collected is contaminated. The deposit works precisely because the containers come back clean and sorted, and unclaimed deposits can fund the small-shop machines Diego is worried about.

Diego: If the scheme genuinely pays for the machine and collects the cans weekly, then I'd actually welcome it, because people coming in to return bottles usually buy something.

Ravi: I'm still not convinced it's worth it for small bottles, but I'd accept starting with cans and large plastic bottles, which are the ones that actually end up in rivers.