Bromley Green Party candidates have launched a Plastics Petition calling on the council to install reverse vending machines for plastic bottles.
Green Party candidates from Beckenham attended the launch which took place in Bromley Market Square on Sunday, March 18.
The petition, which is being backed by News in Beckenham, aims to gather 500 signatures from residents urging the council to install reverse vending machines on local High Streets.
Feeding in a bottle will earn a cash reward, and users can be assured that their plastic bottle will be properly recycled. In fact, the Co-operative supermarket has become one of the first supermarkets to launch such a deposit scheme.
Ruth Fabricant, Green Party candidate for Copers Cope Ward, said: “Providing reverse vending machines on our High Streets will help to reduce litter and overflowing rubbish bins on our streets; it will be a first step towards responsible personal recycling. Through this scheme, Bromley council will be ensuring plastic recycling is easy, fun and rewarding.”
The lack of comprehensive plastic recycling, the use of throw away plastic bottles and the wide-ranging use of plastic in packaging have all led to the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.
An estimated 15,000 reverse vending machines are in operation in Sweden, Norway and Demark. In Norway they form part of their impressive 90 per cent plus recycling rate of plastic bottles.
However, each year the average UK household uses 480 plastic bottles, but only recycles 270 of them. This means that nearly half (44 per cent) are not recycled; of the over 35 million plastic bottles being used every day in the UK, a massive 16 million plastic bottles are not recycled.
To sign the petition visit: https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/help-fight-plastic-waste-with-reverse-vending-machines.html
Beckenham Green Party candidate Ruth Fabricant. Photo by Warren King
Great idea! And, by the way, what does Bromley Council actually do with our plastic recycling?
Is it true that missed collections all get put in the same van?
V interested in the logistics of this as a fellow Green. Where do you get the machines from? How much are they? Who collects the compressed bottles? What about vandalism?