Join us in telling the government: don’t dilute or delay a Deposit Return Scheme

The Essex countryside is littered with discarded single-use drinks bottles and cans. CPRE has been calling for the solution for over 10 years: a simple system that prevents the littering of drinks containers and ensures recycling rates of more than 90 per cent: an all-in Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
Yet, despite committing two years ago to making this happen, the government is seeking to delay and water down its promises once again.
We’re sending a message in a bottle directly to the prime minister, telling him to commit to an all-in DRS now. Will you add your name?
Public pressure has worked before. In 2018, our campaigning led to the then-environment secretary Michael Gove giving his support for an all-in DRS.
Since then, even big drinks producers like Coca-Cola have agreed that the scheme is the answer to our litter problem.
But now the government has released another, worrying, consultation.
Not only is it delaying the scheme until the end of 2024 at the earliest but it’s also still considering a half-hearted design that will set the system up to fail.
We can’t let this happen.
Together we can make this a priority again with a message straight to our decision-makers: don’t dilute or delay a Deposit Return Scheme.
Join us now for one last push.

• To add your name to our message in a bottle, please click here and sign the petition.