Recycle pilot launched to help Scots go digital in fight against single-use plastic

HELPFUL and Mastercard partner with the Scottish Grocer’s Federation to trial micropayments for Scotland’s single-use drinks containers Deposit Return Scheme

Scots will get 20p paid into their digital wallet for each single-use plastic bottle returned

New scheme will reduce Scotland’s CO2e emissions by 160,000 tonnes a year

February 9, 2022, HELPFUL and Mastercard launch the first ever digital wallets and micropayments for the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) pilot. The digital innovation, designed to make it easier to collect rewards for returning single-use plastic bottles, will reward users with 20p for each bottle collected. The scheme is set to reduce Scotland’s CO2e emissions by 160,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 83,000 cars off the road. *

HELPFUL, the sustainable payments provider, is trialling its digital wallets and micropayments in Glasgow to challenge throwaway culture and contribute to the fight against climate change. Consumers will be digitally rewarded for every container they return through their ‘Recycle Glasgow’ app. The introduction of the Recycle Glasgow app means that recycling single-use plastic bottles is now as simple as scanning the barcode on the bottle, returning the bottle into a smart recycling bin or handing it over to the shopkeeper and getting the 20p refund directly into their HELPFUL digital wallet.

Consumers can download the Recycle Glasgow app from their app store and return their plastic bottle to one of the participating conveniences stores across the city of Glasgow. (Locations are available in the app)

For every bottle recycled a tree will be planted via Mastercard's Priceless Planet Coalition, which seeks to restore 100 million trees by 2025. Launched in January 2020, the Priceless Planet Coalition unites the efforts of consumers, financial institutions, merchants and cities to fight climate change – together with climate science and forest restoration experts Conservation International (CI) and World Resources Institute (WRI).

Founder of HELPFUL, Evan Michaels said: "We're incredibly excited to help to provide a solution to enhance the upcoming DRS scheme with the introduction of digital wallets and micropayments. Aimed at everyone, but especially the young and engaged 18-34 year-olds, we will be working within the local communities and local schools to help educate and inspire action, as well as enabling recycling funds to go to schools and charitable causes.”

Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Mastercard UK & Ireland added “Mastercard is committed to building a more inclusive and sustainable digital economy, where people, communities and the planet can thrive. We are thrilled to have worked with HELPFUL to develop the RECYCLE Glasgow pilot, offering environmentally-conscious consumers an easy way to help the planet by recycling single use containers –and being rewarded for it.”

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* 2.5 billion+ recyclable drinks containers are used in Scotland every year. The Deposit Return Scheme aims to capture 90% of them, which could reduce Scotland’s CO2e emissions by 160.000 tonnes of CO2e a year (the equivalent of taking 83,000 cars off the road) and remove 34,000 drinks containers that littering the Scottish streets and countryside every year.

Ref: Zero Waste Scotland (Iain Gulland, Chief Executive)