The article Cash For Containers from Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) about deposits systems in the July issue contained a number of mistakes. Deposits seem like a quick, easy way to obtain good quality recyclate, but they can have many adverse, unintended side-effects and they are always an expensive option. Deposit refund systems operate in a number of countries round the world for a number of different reasons. Whether they are successful or not depends on why, when and how they are set up and operate. It is seldom possible to replicate the same conditions in another country. For this reason we welcome the Scottish Government's plans to trial deposits return/reverse vending schemes before drawing conclusions.
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