Recycling: Brecon trials bottle deposit QR code scheme - BBC

Recycling: Brecon trials bottle deposit QR code scheme - BBC News

Recycling: Brecon trials bottle deposit QR code scheme

- Published

A scheme being tested in a Welsh town to recycle drinks containers could eventually be rolled out across the UK.

Every bottle, can or carton for sale in Brecon, Powys has been issued with a unique, scannable code.

Residents receive 10p for each container they return, either by using their own recycling bins at home or at set collection points.

Nations across the UK aim to have their own deposit return schemes in place by 2025.

But getting them off the drawing board has proved hugely problematic.

Retailers are worried about having to install costly infrastructure, councils fearing the loss of valuable income from kerbside collections and rows between the UK and devolved governments over whether to include glass.

Major supermarkets and drinks manufacturers are helping pay for the 16-week experiment, with virtually every outlet which sells bottles and cans in the town taking part.

Nellie Salter, the trial supervisor, heads a small team with the mammoth task of visiting every shop daily to place a QR code sticker on drinks.

Residents can then scan the codes using an app on their phone if they choose to recycle it via their own bin at home. Or they can use purpose-built machines in the town centre, or visit certain shops which will scan the bottles for them.

Eventually - if it is rolled out nationally - these QR codes would be incorporated on to the drinks wrappers along with the barcode, she explained.

"It's the first ever whole-town trial of a system like this - so the potential is quite big," she said.

"One of the funniest moments was during the Brecon Jazz Festival when we had lots of kids running around collecting their 10ps."

At the local Spar, assistant Mark Jones said people were "saving up 10 to 12 bottles at a time and then bringing them in and buying a bag of sweets for the kids".

Although "one Sunday a man brought in 68 bottles - that was a bit of a challenge at the time but we dealt with it!"

But retired head teacher John Meurig Edwards said that "as a person who doesn't use apps or iPhones" he had not taken part.

"I think it's a good scheme and worth trying because there is a lot of stuff being thrown around, left here, there and everywhere," he said.

But the digital aspect would be "a barrier to some degree for elderly people".

Dr Sarah Ward-Clavier, of Brecon, an associate professor of Welsh history, said: "It's good that it's happening in Brecon because we're a reasonably small town but lots of people are quite enthusiastic about recycling so it's the ideal environment for this type of trial.

"It's nice to get 10p back for anything and the technology seems to work."

The online app keeps track of how many bottles you manage to recycle, and once it hits £5 you can then bank that or donate it to charity.

So far about 1,000 households - out of around 4,000 in Brecon - have engaged with the trial.

At the moment the bottles and cans do not cost more, with the 10p reward being paid for by the supermarkets who have backed the experiment.

Glass bottles are included in the Brecon trial, but they have to be returned via recycling bins at home and not to stores of collection machines.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said he was determined to include glass in any future all-Wales scheme - despite concerns from breweries and objections from the UK government.

Wales has built up an impressive record on recycling in recent years, reaching third place in global league tables, and aiming for a so-called zero waste target by 2050.

Mr Drakeford said that through the trial "we really are learning about how we can run a scheme in a way that will add to the success of what's already been achieved in Wales."