It marks three months since retailer Mo Razzaq began raising funds for local charities and driving sustainability awareness through a ‘Purchase, Refresh, Return, Reward’ trial.
The “very popular” trial - in collab with The Fed, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB (CCEP), Booker, Sielaff, Reloop Platform and Biffa - has seen the team at Premier Mo’s Blantyre encourage shoppers to participate in a recycling initiative.
It aims to raise awareness of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) set to roll out across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland in October 2027, while fundraising and clearing litter off the streets of Blantyre.
Individuals can return their used soft drinks and alcohol cans, as well as plastic bottles, through a designated machine located in a small room at the front of the store.
Participants will receive 10p voucher for each item returned, with the option to redeem their reward in-store or donate it to a local charity via a button on the machine.
Mo is using social media platforms to show what items can and can’t be returned through the machine.
The initiative has already diverted thousands of items from the rubbish heap, with over 1600 items returned through the machine in the week 13-19 January.
Those who opt to donate can select from Blantyre Victoria Football Club, Bonnie Blantyre, Blantyre Boxing and Calderside Academy Association.
On top of the donations, Mo is contributing £100 a month to each of the charities. Since October, the trial has raised £961 for Blantyre Victoria Football Club, Mo told Convenience Store.
”We wanted to test the charity button and see what the success would be like. We’ve done that and it’s been pretty successful. So now we’ve done that side of it we also want to start raising awareness of the Deposit Return Scheme,” he said.
Julian Hunt, vice president public affairs, communications and sustainability at CCEP GB and Northern Europe, told Convenience Store that CCEP has long-supported the implementation of an interoperable deposit return scheme across the UK.
“This trial with NFRN [The Fed] formed part of our efforts to generate learnings for the wider UK DRS scheme once it’s operational, particularly for small stores. We are in full support of Scottish DRS regulations being amended to align with the scope of the England and Northern Ireland schemes. Consistency across all schemes is key to reduce consumer confusion, prevent fraud and achieve environmental outcomes.
“We applaud Mo Razzaq’s leadership on this issue - the trial in his store demonstrates how all retailers can support DRS and provide an important new service for their local communities,” said Hunt.
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