Ownership and usage of reusable water bottles in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018
Plastic bottle recycling
UK households consumed 594,000 metric tons of plastic bottles in 2017. Despite this, only 351,907 metric tons was collected for recycling. In a bid to tackle plastic bottle waste, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was introduced in 2018. Iceland was the first supermarket to introduce the reverse vending machines in the UK, and by January 2019, 311,500 plastic bottles had been recycled.
Moving away from single-use bottles
The global value of the reusable water bottle market is expected to increase in the future as consumers switch to eco-friendly alternatives to single-use bottles. There has been growing concern over the rise in plastic waste, especially in oceans. A 2019 study conducted by Earthwatch Europe and Oceans UK found that plastic bottles were the most prevalent forms of plastic waste found in European waterways.