In a poll of 2,000 adults, 73% of Brits supported a DRS that included aluminium cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles.
The research by non-profit Alupro also found that 65% SAID Whitehall should follow the example of its Welsh Government colleagues by setting binding recycling targets for local authorities.
‘Right the wrongs’
More than 8-in-10 of Brits asked said Labour should be bold in pushing through key environmental policies, while a further 82% said they wanted Labour to ‘right the wrongs’ of 14 years of Conservative Government.
Tom Giddings, Alupro executive director, said: “The Great British public could not be clearer – they want Labour to get on and deliver for the environment. They do not want landmark environmental policy such as deposit return schemes to be delayed beyond 2027.
“Britons have waited long enough for Whitehall to do right by the environment. I look forward to discussing in Liverpool how Labour can deliver a real circular economy for this and future generations.”
Alupro’s finding come ahead of the Labour Party Conference 2024 in Liverpool.
‘Long campaigned for’
Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Tidy Allison Ogden-Newton added: “We have long campaigned for a deposit return scheme including all materials.
“We have heard countless stories of people and pets being endangered by littered glass, as well as our volunteers who struggle with removing broken glass from the environment as it cuts through plastic waste bags.”
Bringing forward plans for a DRS in the UK would lift the country’s waste management sector and accelerate the move to a low waste circular economy, according to waste management software provider ISB Global.
Earlier this month, nature minister Mary Creagh confirmed that the new Labour government planned to roll out a UK-wide DRS for PET bottles and steel and aluminium drinks cans ahead of the October 2027 date proposed in March 2024 by the previous administration.