The Brewers & Licensed Retailers Associatin is to double the amount of public houses on its Bottleback glass collection scheme by the end of the year, but will not be doing so in line with its original expansion programme. The scheme, which already operates in London, Manchester, Leeds and parts of the Midlands, will move into Tyneside and Teesside, Lancashire and parts of the north-west and will also expand across the Midlands. The London operation, currently south London-based, will spread to north-west London and enter into Surrey, Sussex and Kent. The expansion will take the customer base from 1500 to 3000 and would more than double the amount of glass collected to around 120-160 tonnes every week. The scheme has plans to increase fourfold next year. Bottleback was first planned in 1997 to offset BLRA members' obligations under the packaging waste regulations.
