Newly-appointed Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons is planning to launch a public consultation reviewing the feasibility of a deposit return scheme for single use plastic.
It has been suggested milk cartons would also be eligible for the scheme.
“In February 2020, we committed to Northern Ireland’s continued participation in the development of UK-wide proposals to reform the packaging producer responsibility system and the introduction of a deposit return scheme,” he said.
Minister Lyons explained that similar schemes in Europe had dramatically increased recycling rates.
“Such a scheme can significantly increase the recycling and recyclability of a single-use drinks containers. A deposit return scheme could also result in a substantial reduction in the amount of littering in Northern Ireland,” Minister Lyons said.
“Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, have achieved collection and recycling rates of 98 per cent, 91 per cent and 95 per cent respectively for plastic drinks bottles,” he added.
Mr Lyons revealed the department itself is on course to ban single-use plastics within its buildings by October 2021.
“To meet the commitment in ‘New Decade, New Approach’ to tackle plastic pollution, we will propose further measures to control plastic waste, including legislation on plastic caps and lids, labelling, recycled content and reductions in single use plastic cups and food containers,” he concluded.
LSL News.