Pay for parking with plastic (bottles)

Car park operator CitiPark has become the latest company to encourage people to recycle with an innovative new offer that could see people pay for their parking with plastic bottles.

The company yesterday launched a month-long campaign at its car park at the Merrion Centre in Leeds, which will see drivers exchange plastic bottles for discount tokens that they can use to pay for their parking at the car park's pay stations.

Bottles have to be 500ml or larger, but each bottle can be exchanged for a 20p token and there is no limit on the number of bottles people can bring in.

The bottles will be collected and recycled into usable items, such as shirts, toys, and chairs.

The new offer will be accompanied by a week of recycling and sustainability activities, bringing together retailers and other organisations at the shopping centre during the week of the 22nd October.

Charlotte-Daisy Ziff, head of corporate social responsibilities at CitiPark's parent company Town Centre Securities, said the offer represented a "win-win" for customers.

"This promotion not only offers our customers the chance of free/discounted parking, but they can also get rid of their waste plastic bottles and contribute to the protection of the environment at the same time," she said. "We hope that as many people as possible will get on board."

The move is the latest in a series of moves by companies, primarily in the retail space, to pilot plastic bottle deposit return schemes where customers can secure cash or vouchers for handing in plastic bottles.

In other plastics news, the Co-operative supermarket has reportedly struck a deal with Italian bioplastics group Novamont to supply new biodegradable bags.

Reuters reported that the Italian company had been selected to support the retailer's recently announced pledge to phase out single use plastic bags and replace them with a compostable alternative.