To think that manufacturers should bear the brunt of packaging tax?

[gingergenius]

Just watched an article on the news about plastic bottle deposits.

I was a kid when they did this at corner shops. We went to greengrocers, and took our own bags. We went to butchers and fishmongers and shopped weekly. We had milkmen who collected and recycled milk bottles.

I recycle religiously every week. But apparently now the government still thinks me and millions like me aren't doing enough so now we'll be charged if we don't take bottles etc back event though we're already recycling? Wtf?

Why is the government it demanding that manufacturers are providing more sustainable options rather than laying everything at the consumer's door?

Ainu to feel this is unfair and we should all work together to change this?

Why isn't the government....doh!

YANBU. And I'd like to know if its possible to reintroduce reusable glass bottles.

I agree with you Op. While I think we all have a responsibility towards the environment, we as individuals are relatively limited in terms of the impact we can make compared to the manufacturers. Yes, people could choose not to buy them, or ensure they do take them back but there are enough people who will be able to say "meh, it's only x amount, I'm not bothered".

I'm not hugely convinced that taxing these items really does make a difference. The charge on bottles, disposable coffee cups, whatever isn't really enough to make enough people change behaviours. When massive change is needed I think governments need to impose strict requirements on businesses because the necessary change will only come about when a businesses bottom line is effected by not adapting.

Just watching gove smugly telling us how wasteful we are. Can't believe this is just the consumers' duty!!!

This is absolutely on manufacturers. But perhaps advertising campaign to steer consumers away from expectations of certain packaging.

There should also be grants available for researchers to develop new types of packaging that are natural and biodegradable. I’ve seen an indie gogo fund for edible straws this week and have read previously of disposable cutlery and plates made from corn I think it was, that could be eaten by the consumer or biodegrades

YABU. You may be recycling, but many millions of people in the UK don't (and in many cases they do, they don't clean out the containers properly, so very little of what we put in our bins actually gets recycled as the entire 'dirty' batch is just thrown onto landfill).

The amount of discarded bottles and cans I see daily when walking down the streets of my town is disgusting. Same goes for what the kids in the school I work in drop on the floor as they walk - in some cases literally next to the bins.

Littering is far less of an issue in European countries that have introduced this deposit-return scheme and in the odd case someone does throw a bottle etc. away they get collected by the homeless, who exchange them for a few cent in shops themselves.

Sometimes, it takes a little more of a forceful nudge to get people to do the right thing.

It is the responsibility of both the manufacturer and the consumer.

You cannot really use less materials when packaging bottled drinks, so it is important for the consumer to recycle the bottles and not just.throw them on the road (regardless of what they are made from).

With other products it's very much the manufacturer who should be using less packaging. Why does a plastic toy need a cardboard box, moulded plastic inserts and stupid amounts of cable ties and thick bits of plastic for packaging, when a cardboard box and possibly a moulded cardboard insert would do the job just as well and is more environmentally friendly?

The manufacturer's would just pass the cost on to the purchaser anyhow.
It's a bit academic where I live (Kent), as the council don't recycle plastic, it all goes to landfill.

I have never seen anywhere in the UK that a homeless person, or anyone for that matter, could drop off recyclable bottles for a few pence. Perhaps if this was commonly available it would be less of an issue. I agree with you but the simple fact is that people don't do it because the facilities aren't available. DH & I have been recycling all our recyclables & using cloth bags for a vary long time, despite being disabled, not owning a car & having little public transport locally. Unfortunately the local recycling bins in our entire district were recently removed as the local traders were dumping their rubbish in them. There will always be someone who will abuse facilities, unfortunately.

Jozxyqk, did you mean me? I said I've seen it happen in other European countries, where the return-scheme is estalished, with facilities to return bottles and cans in most supermarkets.

There is something called the Packaging Waste Regulations where companies (who meet certain requirements) must tell the government how much packaging they used in the previous year and then they pay a tax based on how much they used (it's not a tax but to simplify the situation it is). The money raised then goes into recycling, be that research into how to recycle difficult materials to better signage at centres. Manufacturers, retailers and everyone in between have to comply. Certain retailers have bills into the £millions for this. So, whilst more could be done, manufacturers are already covering the cost of a lot of this.

I feel like more could be done by the manufacturers to reduce packaging. Personally I'd like to see paper bags for loose fruit and veg, for example. I'm pleased to see less plastic inside Easter egg boxes this year though.

I think the council could make it easier to recycle, why are all councils different to the extent its not possible for manufacturers to say YES or NO on packaging, it has to say "check local recycling". They should all have the same facilities and it should be a national not local effort, same goes for how they empty waste and how every area has different coloured bins. In the street you often only see a single waste bin, why not more recycling bins too? It seems we've got stuck in the past and the whole system needs scrapping and restarting.

This week I ordered 1m of thin ribbon from amazon and it came in a plastic bag so large it couldn't fit through the letterbox and it was also wrapped in bubble wrap...all of it will go to landfill. Granted it was from China, but its still excessive and we all live on the same planet.