Waking up, at last, to our overuse of plastics

Britain is finally waking up to the consequences of our over-use of plastic.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed late March that ministers would introduce a deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans in England - subject to consultation.

It is estimated that the cost would be somewhere between 10 and 30 pence per bottle, depending on the size of the container, and could be refunded to the holder if the container is returned to a collection point.

Germany introduced this scheme in 2002, with varying deposit amounts depending on the container type, use and size.

The ever efficient Germany even introduced automatic collection points to automatically scan containers and issue a receipt for the deposit.

The scheme successfully saw German PET bottle return and recycling rise to 98.5% - the highest in the world.

The UK currently recycles just 37.9% of its plastic waste, according to government statistics.

So, let us all hope the consultation period is short and sweet so we can start repairing what we’ve broken. What are we waiting for? Get on with it.

One question about plastics, however. How comes my 5p supermarket carrier bag will hang around for hundreds of years but my plastic oil tank only lasted 15 years? Just asking.