On Monday we reported MP Mr. Stuart Hayward's call for a Government-run scheme providing an incentive for people to recycle drinks cans. Mr. Hayward suggested a levy of one cent be imposed by Government for every can imported.

A cash incentive based on weight would then be paid out to those returning cans for recycling.

Bermuda needs a ban on drinks bottles and an official deposit scheme for cans, says Independent MP Mr. Stuart Hayward.

The two moves would cut down litter, boost recycling, and teach young people to be environment-friendly, he said last night.

Mr. Hayward said the KBB's "Don't Mess Around'' campaign was good, but not enough to tackle the Island's huge litter problem.

Government should ignore outdated arguments from drinks companies and ban imports of bottles, he said.

And it should run its own incentive scheme, paying a nominal sum such as one cent for every can residents bring to the Devon Springs Road recycling centre.

Mr. Hayward also said Government had not acted on the contents of a Works and Engineering survey on litter last year.

The 1991 Baseline Survey recommended support for the KBB campaign, but also suggested tougher rules on imports.

It revealed drinks-related trash made up the biggest proportion of accumulated litter on the Island, at 37 percent.

Beer bottles were the biggest single item, and people under 30 the biggest deliberate litterers.

Using figures from the US and Canada, the survey showed litter from drinks containers could drop 86 percent with a deposit scheme.

Mr. Hayward said the ending of the volunteer deposit scheme run by Junior Chamber member Mr. Bill Ingham, meant there was little incentive for people to recycle cans.

Government was "nowhere near'' recycling 200 tons of steel and aluminium cans by the end of the year, the estimate when the recycling centre opened in June.

"Deposits do work,'' he said. "We need to build up the habit of recycling in young people. It's far better to spend money reinforcing and developing recycling skills than it is to spend it on advertising.

"An incentive scheme would provide us with armies of waste collectors, who not only would reduce the amount of litter, but also develop habits that are essential to our future waste management.'' A bottle ban need not be drastic or punitive, he said. If a product only came in a bottle, the case for an exception would be heard.