The bottle deposit return system (DRS) in the Philippines has been in place for many years. When I was a kid, I recall being tasked by my parents to refund bottle deposits in the neighborhood sari-sari store. The DRS is very effective in collecting glass bottles for re-use by the companies that produce them.
In other countries, the DRS is not that effective. The small return is not worth the effort of returning bottles. This is in spite of reverse vending machines scattered in strategic places for people’s convenience. Reverse vending machines are specialized recycling machines that accept empty beverage containers like plastic bottles, glass bottles, and aluminum cans, and dispenses a reward or refund to the user.
Recently, researchers in Canada found a way to entice people to return their bottles through the same collection system but with a twist – lottery. Instead of the typical 10-cent deposit return, people are given the chance to win $1,000. This study by the University of British Columbia resulted in people recycling 47 per cent more bottles.
“This small change in how we reward recycling made a big difference. People were more excited, more engaged, and they brought in more bottles,” said Dr. Jiaying Zhao (she/her), associate professor in the department of psychology and senior author of the study. The thrill of possibly winning a big prize is more motivating than a small, guaranteed reward. This is the same reason people buy lottery tickets.
Furthermore, the study found that people felt happier when they had the chance to win a big prize, even if they didn’t actually win. This feeling—called “anticipatory happiness”—made the recycling experience more enjoyable. The chance of winning is 1 in 10,000.
How about testing this lottery system in the Philippines? It might help improve the recovery of single-use plastic containers. We do not have a DRS for plastic bottles, only for glass. Recovery is mostly through junk shops. Lawmakers may consider integrating DRS as part of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law. This EPR law requires big companies to recover their plastic waste through various means. They might want to try this lottery system.
The DRS is widely practiced in Norway. They have a very impressive return rate of 97 percent for plastic bottles throughout the country. Consumers pay a deposit when purchasing beverages in bottles or cans, which is refunded when they return the containers to designated collection points. These collection points include thousands of reverse vending machines and manual collection points at stores. The DRS in Norway is the responsibility of the beverage producers.
Note that in Norway a deposit fee is charged not only to glass bottles but to plastics and cans as well. Here in the Philippines the deposit system is for glass bottles and only for beverage companies that have bottling plants here. It does not apply to wine bottles and other bottled products.