The UK government has confirmed that a Deposit Return Scheme to increase recycling of single-use packaging and reduce littering will launch across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2025.
The response has been issued almost two years after the original publication of the consultation which ran for ten weeks and received 2,590 responses from a range of stakeholders.
The government has proposed a ‘stretching target date’ of 1 October 2025 for the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme that has been described as an ‘all-in’ system, meaning containers from 50ml to 3litres will all be included.
This will align with the Scottish system which is planned to get underway in August this year. Notably, well ahead of the rest of the UK.
The process now will see DRS regulations laid and passed into law this year with the establishment of a Deposit Management Organisation by summer 2024. By October 2025, the Deposit Return Scheme will be up and running.
As stated in last year’s packaging EPR consultation response, 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.
Producers will be mandated to label their packaging as in-scope of the DRS, and further apply an ‘identification marker’ – such as a QR code or barcode – so containers can be recognised at return points.
According to Ecosurety, the current UK recycling rate for drinks containers stands at around 70%, leaving approximately 4 billion plastic bottles and 2.7 billion cans unrecycled every year.
Defra first committed to implementing a DRS in 2018 but cite hurdles such as the Covid-19 pandemic and current inflationary pressures as causes for what will be a seven year interval.
You can read the government’s response to the DRS consultation here.
