UK supermarket Tesco has announced that it will launch a reverse vending machine initiative, to encourage customers to recycle their plastic bottles, and get money back on the bottle. The scheme is being introduced as a trial in stores in Swansea, Borehamwood, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester, and 10p for each bottle will be returned to the customer.
Customers can deposit up to 10 750ml bottles per day. The scheme is similar to ones introduced by other supermarkets, such as the Co-Op, Iceland and Morrisons. The government spoke of introducing a bottle return scheme in the future, in efforts to cut down on plastic waste, and similar initiatives have been successful in countries across Europe.
Jason Tarry, CEO of Tesco UK and ROI, said: “We are already committed to eliminating single-use plastic wherever we can and make recycling simpler for customers. Today is another step in that direction.
“However, we know that it is going to take retailers, manufacturers and government to work together to make progress. We would urge the government to move to a single, nationwide approach to waste collection that makes it much easier for people to recycle.”
