M&S Sign Up to New Recycling Scheme

Written by International Supermarket News Published: June 01, 2009

Marks and Spencer is one of numerous firms to participate in the latest recycling scheme run in conjunction with local councils and Veolia Environmental Services. This will see micro-chips installed in bins to measure contributions to recycling, which will then convert into vouchers potentially amounting to around £150 per year.

The amount of vouchers awarded, however, will be capped to ensure that waste is not generated on purpose, amounting to an abuse of the system. Previous attempts to install micro-chips in bins to enforce "bin tax" have proved unpopular, but this initiative is expected to be rolled out to hundreds of thousands of households in the next two years.

More high street shops and businesses are to join in the next few years. MP Liam Maxwell, Lead Cabinet Member for Sustainability for the Tory-controlled council for Windsor and Maidenhead, said that customers should be rewarded, not punished, for their environmental savings, and expressed excitement about the scheme's potential to boost recycling and reduce landfill waste. The scheme will also have a positive impact on local economies.

The idea is an American import but Matthew Tucker, President of RecycleBank, thinks it will catch on faster here.

At Marks and Spencer, vouchers awarded can be used for reductions on all goods, and the pilot scheme is being run at stores in Windsor and Maidenhead.