Deposit-Return Charges Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Deposit-return charges are fees paid by consumers, typically for containers of liquid or powdered substances. Companies hope to encourage consumers to recycle the containers by repaying the deposit-charge when they are returned to the retailer, who is asked to administer the system of fees on behalf of the manufacturer. The system is particularly useful when the containers are of comparatively high value compared to the contents, as is the case with many carbonated soft drinks in the developing world, when consumers frequently prefer to take away the product in plastic bags for a slightly lower cost and leave the deposit-bearing item in the hands of the retailer, who is thereby able to achieve a modest profit. The system is also important when the containers are environmentally hazardous, and represent a good use of resources if recycling is encouraged, instead of paying the higher costs associated with cleaning the resulting hazard.

In many developed states, the financial incentive is reinforced by information and persuasion, and in some cases, people respond better to such an approach. However, willingness to participate in recycling schemes can decline over time, which can have important implications for industries that rely on recycling for their raw material inputs. Millions of people scavenge for a meager income from rubbish dumps in poorer countries, or scour urban residential and industrial areas for salvageable items. That so many people are able to extract a living this way, no matter how meager, indicates the extent to which so much recyclable waste is needlessly thrown away or consigned to dumps that may then lead to further environmental problems.

The United Nations estimates that some 2,000 million tons per year of waste are generated in Europe alone, which includes 40 million tons per year of hazardous waste. A significant amount of this waste can be eliminated through such measures as encouraging retailers not to distribute free plastic carrier bags, and through greater use of financial incentives to eliminate needless waste. Nevertheless, when the containers are of some economic value, perhaps more than returning them can provide, there is an incentive for retailers to divert them to other purposes. It is estimated, for example, that between 750,000 and 1 million steel beer kegs go missing annually in the United Kingdom at a cost of more than 22 million, because of global demand for steel. Consequently, industry suppliers may levy substantial deposit charges on the items in the future. This is opposed by those retailers who consider themselves innocent of losing or selling the kegs, and resent having to tie up their money in this way. When the waste products involved are hazardous and of little value to the manufacturers, as in the case of mobile (cell) telephone batteries, then government regulation is necessary to ensure that appropriate recycling takes place.

Bibliography:

Subodh Das and Margaret Hughes, “Improving Aluminum Can Recycling Rates: A Six Sigma Study in Kentucky,” ]OM (v.58/8, 2006);
Tony Halstead, “Pubs Face Keg Deposit Charges,” Morning Advertiser (September 21, 2006).