Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has welcomed yesterday’s announcement from Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Gove that the Government will be consulting on bringing in a plastic bottle deposit return scheme.
Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference yesterday, Michael Gove said:
“We must protect our oceans and marine life from plastic waste if we are to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it.”
“That means tackling the rise in plastic bottles entering our waters by making it simpler and easier to recycle and dispose of them appropriately.”
“Today we are launching a call for evidence to help us understand how reward and return schemes for plastic bottles and other drinks containers could work in England.”
“This approach has already seen great success in other countries such as Denmark in curbing plastic pollution and we want to hear people’s ideas on how we could make it work in England.”
Speaking after the announcement, Steve said:
“It was great to see this announcement from the Secretary of State. This is brilliant news and another step towards the goal that myself as Chairman and others as part of the Protect Our Waves All Party Parliamentary Group have been campaigning on.”
“We have seen our campaign gather momentum, have lobbied Ministers at all levels of the Government, and handed in a petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures on it into Number Ten Downing Street, so I am pleased the Government continues to listen and take active steps towards bringing a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles in.
“I will keenly be watching the upcoming consultation and its results and will continue to do all I can to make these plans a reality.”