Jamaica uses almost one billion PET bottles each year. Improper disposal of these bottles results in blocked drainages, which leads to floods, in polluted beaches, and in the creation of breeding sites for disease-carrying insects such as the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, facilitating the spread of diseases like Zika and dengue fever. It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars could be saved each year if PET bottles alone were diverted from the country’s waste stream.

Of the different methods used around the world to reduce the presence of PET bottles (volume-based disposal fees, bans, etc), Deposit Refund Systems (DRS) have shown to be the most effective, in countries such as Germany, Israel, Australia, Sweden and the United States.

A DRS involves the payment of a sum of money (deposit) by the user upon purchase of a bottled drink. Once the bottle is returned, the deposit is refunded (in full or partially). The success of the schemerelies mainly on: (1) the refund value of the container, as there is a financial incentive to return the container for recycling; and (2) the ease with which containers can be redeemed for monetary reward.