7 June 2016 – As more countries consider deposit-return (DRS) as a means to reduce litter and encourage recycling of beverage containers, many are questioning the impacts that such a system would have on municipalities, particularly those that have an existing source separation program in place. The main argument put forward by opponents is that DRSs harm municipalities. To support this argument, evidence is provided to show loss of material revenues as well as the industry contributions from extended producer responsibility schemes for packaging where they exist. However, one of the key elements missing in the majority of these analyses is the savings resulting from the reduced or avoided costs of collection, treatment, and disposal by the municipal waste management system.
We wanted to learn more about how municipalities are impacted by the implementation of a DRS, and so we set off on a task to compile all of the research done on the subject over the years. What we found was compelling, and sufficiently closes the case that container deposit systems are good—not bad—for municipalities.
Click here to see a summary of our research.
