Plastic bottle deposit scheme in the Czech Republic: do you have it in your country?

in #nature6 years ago (edited)

Hi there my Steemit friends and followers!

I was very pleased to find out that our government here in the Czech Republic is considering an introduction of a plastic bottle deposit scheme. As of now, without any return system, 56% of plastic bottles are recycled in our country, which might not be that bad but on the other hand, it can obviously be much better. Our western neighbors Germans, for example, have been using a very efficient deposit scheme for years and their current rate of plastic bottle recycling is at admirable 98%. That means only two out of a hundred plastic bottles do not get recycled, which is a truly amazing figure.

plastic-bottles.jpg
Image source: Public Domain Pictures (Creative Commons)

I did some brief research on the topic and I soon found out that the recycling rate is significantly higher in countries that have some kind of return system than in those who do not. There is currently some 40 countries worldwide with a plastic bottle deposit scheme and in most of them, the recycling rate is between 85% and 95%.

The only country where I have seen this practice in use is Costa Rica and I can say I did not find a single refundable bottle thrown away on a street or in nature. It was quite unusual to pay those 500 Costa Rican Colones (about 1 USD) extra as the deposit when buying a bottled drink but it is just a matter of habit I guess and it is absolutely worth it if you consider how much damage to the planet and its wildlife you can actually prevent by that.

plastic-bottle-606881_960_720.jpg
Image source: Pixabay (Creative Commons)

How about you, my Steemit friends? Is there a plastic bottle deposit scheme in your country? I would love to read about your experience and opinions. Feel free to write them down in the comment section below. Thank you! :)



pokus-maly.jpg


Thank you for visiting my blog. If you like posts about #nature, #animals, #traveling and discovering secrets and beauties of the #world, feel free to follow me as these are the topics I mostly write about. Have a wonderful day and keep on Steeming!

Sort:  

Oh that's great! Costa Rica is always ahead of everyone else in the region, I feel! Here , we have a guy who owns a lot of land and he builds all the houses with plastic bottles (if you look him up on YouTube, search for Plastic Bottle Village). That's his way of eliminating them from our sight, and also from the ground or the ocean. But it's only temporary relief. He also started a sticker system to reward people for bringing them to him. I will write a post about him, because his initiative is great...

Wow, I just found this guy and his project on Youtube. He lives in Bocas too so he is a kind of your neighbor! :D Cannot wait to check out the post about him you are going to write :)

actually he's literally my neighbor =) His property is right next to our house =)

Wow - how cool is that? :) Well, those stylish fences of yours made from wine bottles now make even more sense I guess hahaha :D

Such an admirable movement, @phortun! 😀And helps Mother Earth become a better place again too.

I guess it's a good primary step to charge people a deposit for every plastic bottle, so that they will realize that after they use it, they can still get money from it. This first step is also a good way to create good habits.

Anyway, thanks for sharing! 😊

P.S. We have something similar to this in Israel, but I hope in time we have those automatic recycling machines like that of the Netherlands.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving this interest comment Michelle :) I can only agree with everything you wrote there. Also, glad to know that Israel is among the countries that have some kind of deposit scheme.

Yes @phortun, but I hope this deposit scheme kind of becomes a "standard" on all countries, so that we can find a way to make recycling and upcycling a habit. 😊

Germany is fucking crazy (in a good way mind you!) with all of their trash. They have all kind of color coded containers it's amazing. Denmark is also alright but not as close as Germany. Norway should be doing good as well if I remember right!

Posted using Partiko Android

That is right, northern European countries have always rank high in eco-friendliness. I guess Switzerland and Austria are also great at recycling.

in my own opinion, it is a very great way of also cleaning the environment. but in all, it is a great incentive and reasoning . i wish my country can also promote such thought also. it will bring about more employment and also increasing the awareness of citizens to clean and recycle some used stuffs in their environment

Sounds right! :)

We don't have a plastic bottle deposit scheme in the UK @phortun but I've heard of the success of the one in Germany.

I really hope they bring one in here soon as we put our bottles in the recycling bin anyway. 😊

Let´s hope our countries introduce it soon too :)

In Finland we have had the deposit scheme for a long time. Right now, we are recycling 91 % plastic bottles, 94 % cans, glass bottles 87 %.

Wow, impressive results! Good to know almost no trash is thrown out into the picturesque Scandinavian nature :)

In Australia we have had this kind of policy for years, unfortunately no one ever seems to take advantage of it.

Really? You mean people still throw away the bottles - even though they are refundable?

Congratulations @phortun! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of posts published

Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Support SteemitBoard's project! Vote for its witness and get one more award!

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70753.86
ETH 3589.34
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.75