§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the number of people per bottle bank in the United Kingdom and for other European Community countries.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyI understand from the British Glass Manufacturers Confederation that the average density of bottle banks in the United Kingdom is one bottle bank for approximately every 14,000 people.
In 1978 there were just 17 bottle bank sites in the whole country. By 1982 there were 1,230 or one for 45,000 people. Our target is to reach one for 10,000 people in 1991.
In Europe, the average latest available (1985) figures for the provision of bottle banks are:
Austria 1 bottle bank per 1,200 people Switzerland 1 bottle bank per 1,300 people Netherlands 1 bottle bank per 1,400 people France 1 bottle bank per 2,000 people Germany 1 bottle bank per 2,000 people