When did the practice of giving change to children who brought empty bottles into shops end in the UK?

kristian88

With the introduction of bottle banks. Jul 12 04, 1:26 PM

gmackematix

So it's the fault of Fatboy Slim's Dad is it? I'm sure bottle banks came to Britain in about 1988 but I'm sure that this practice had already died out by then. Corona seemed to be the main benefactor of this exchange system from what I can remember. Jul 12 04, 5:31 PM

Baloo55th

Bottle banks came afterwards to mop up the excess of non-returnables. When the small producers of pop were absorbed into big units, it became less economic to collect and transport the empties across the country. And then clean them, too. The improvements in making cheap bottles added to this. Milk bottles are much dearer to produce, and are stronger, and are still handled more locally (mile and a half away in the case of the dairy that brings my milk!) so they get reused. Some beer bottles and mixer bottles are returned from pubs and bars, but this is declining. Jul 13 04, 4:50 AM