Orkney residents are given the chance to trial the upcoming DRS scheme with a recycling pilot allowing them to place their drinks containers in two reverse vending machines.
Return & Recycle Orkney, delivered by Zero Waste Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, will run until Scotland’s nationwide deposit return scheme goes live in August next year.
The machines will generate a 5p donation to charity for every bottle or can returned.
Although consumers will not pay a deposit on drinks containers under Return & Recycle Orkney, the initiative is hoped to provide insights to help shape the way Scotland’s deposit return scheme is rolled out to rural and island communities in Scotland.
It will also give islanders the chance to try out using the machines that will be used in the deposit return scheme in advance of the 2023 launch.
“This is a fantastic project that will make it easy for people in Orkney to recycle their empty drinks bottles and cans,” Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said.
“Better recycling facilities will help keep litter off our streets and green spaces, while reducing the needless waste and emissions that are driving the climate crisis.”
