Boots has become the latest retailer to trial a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drink containers in its stores.
Reverse vending machines have been introduced at two of the health & beauty retailer’s stores in Perth and Glasgow, where customers can return empty plastic, metal and glass drink containers from 50ml up to 3 litres.
For each drink container deposited, customers will receive a voucher with 10 Boots Advantage Card points, with a maximum of 25 containers per transaction. Customers can then take their voucher to the till to have the points added to their Advantage Card for future purchases.
Paul Dunne, Transformation Director at Boots UK, commented: “We are pleased to be able to trial another way for customers to recycle their plastic, metal and glass drink containers. This is an opportunity for us to review the operational impact on installations of Reverse Vending Machines in our stores, as well as the practicalities of running a Deposit Return Scheme on the high street.”
The move comes amid an increasing drive by the retail industry to reduce single use plastic waste and improve recycling rates, whilst the government is also looking into introducing a national deposit return scheme. Iceland, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and the Co-op have all been testing reverse vending machine in their stores. Iceland recently claimed that it had seen “significant” consumer participation in its in-store reverse vending trial.
NAM Implication:
- Every little helps…
