DRS confirmed for 2025 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Today the long-awaited government response to the second consultation for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was released.
The government response has come almost two years after the original publication of the consultation which ran for 10 weeks and received 2,590 responses from a range of stakeholders, with 74% of those in favour of the scheme.
DRSs are well established policy tools used globally to increase the recycling of single-use drinks containers and to reduce littering, with well-functioning systems achieving recycling rates of over 90%. Waste and recycling are devolved matters, meaning the Scottish government has used powers to implement their DRS in August this year, well ahead of the rest of the UK.
The new government response contains some key decisions but nonetheless leaves several details to the yet-to-be-established Deposit Management Organisation (DMO).
Key decisions include:
- Government have proposed a ‘stretching target date’ of 1 October 2025 for commencement of the DRS
- An ‘all-in’ system has been confirmed, meaning containers from 50ml-3l will be included. This aligns with the Scottish system.
- As stated in the packaging EPR consultation response last year, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and steel and aluminium cans will be in-scope in England and Northern Ireland. Wales (and Scotland) will also include glass bottles.
- Producers will be defined as brand-owners, manufacturers, or importers of in-scope packaging. Retailers – direct sellers of in-scope containers to consumers - will only be considered producers when placing their own-branded goods on the market, but will be obliged in most cases to host return points and be reimbursed via a handling fee.
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