Ireland should follow UK in recycling deposit scheme

Sir, – The UK is set to join 38 countries in having a recycling scheme in which all containers, whether plastic, glass or metal, will to be covered by a deposit return (DRS) scheme in retail stores.

In Ireland it could be calculated that up to 10,000 plastic bottles become litter every day. In Germany a DRS was introduced in 2003 and 99 per cent of plastic bottles are now recycled.

It’s time we in Ireland tackled the blight of discarded bottles and cans on the sides of our roads, streets, rivers and in green areas. Millions of unrecycled plastic bottles end up in our oceans and are wrecking havoc on marine life around the planet. – Yours, etc,

JOE RYAN,

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Dublin 14.