Over 20,000 cans and plastic bottles were recycled as part of a campus deposit return scheme (DRS) trial between Coca-Cola and New College Lanarkshire.
As part of a trial launched in September this year, Students at the Motherwell, Coatbridge and Cumbernauld New College Lanarkshire campuses were charged a 20p deposit when buying a plastic bottle or can.
They could then redeem the deposit after returning the bottle or can using reverse vending machines (RVMs) in the campus’s canteens.
The trial, a partnership between Keep Scotland Beautiful, New College Lanarkshire, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), resulted in the RVMs being used ‘eighty times more’ than in the same period last year.
In total, 20,177 bottles and cans – 11,293 cans and 8,884 plastic bottles – were recycled during the trial, compared to 255 bottles and cans in the same period last year.
Usage dropped sharply once the incentive ended, with 346 containers recycled the following week, a 91% decrease on the trial’s weekly average.
These studies are allowing us to see first-hand how people interact with a DRS in reality…
The five-week trial resulted in an 80% redemption rate of the 20p vouchers students received for recycling their containers.
Commenting on the trial’s results, Barry Fisher, our Chief Executive, said: “Thanks to our consistent messaging across the college campuses the students were well informed of the machines and the incentive, and with two years until we see a UK-wide DRS it’s vital that the public are aware of its introduction to ensure it is a success from the start.”
The initiative builds on learnings from a previous campaign between the charity, CCEP and the University of Strathclyde, which tested various interventions and messaging to encourage students to recycle and think about their waste disposal choices, as well as their motivations for recycling.
The University of Strathclyde campaign found that 50% of students felt an incentive would encourage them to recycle more.
Jo Padwick, Senior Sustainability Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB, said: “These studies are allowing us to see first-hand how people interact with a DRS in reality and build a picture of what recycling behaviour will look like ahead of its eventual rollout across the UK in 2027.”