How it Works
Deposit return systems give consumers an incentive to recycle their empty drinks container. When you buy a drink, you pay a small amount extra for the bottle or can. This money is fully refunded when the container is returned for recycling.
This first short video explains the deposit return cycle, and this second video gives answers to some frequently asked questions. This video highlights how deposit return helps to reduce litter and increase recycling.
This diagram shows what happens from the customer paying a deposit when they purchase a drink, to how they get their refund, and what happens to the bottle or can next!
“Aberdeenshire Environmental Forum are supportive of Deposit Return Systems for beverage and other containers. We recognise that placing a monetary value on such materials gives them a tangible value that the public will recognise over and above their intrinsic value as a resource.
Aberdeenshire Litter Initiative- ALi, believed to be the largest Adopt – a – Street project in the UK, has been going for 10 years with 620 members many of whom report that beverage containers form a large part of the litter that they collect. DRS will undoubtedly lead to a reduction in such littering behaviour and act as another ‘environmental’ nudge to the general public.”
Aberdeenshire Environmental Forum