The UK Government has announced the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers come 2025.
Originally promised in the 2019 manifesto, the UK government has finally announced the introduction of a deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for PET plastic, steel and aluminium drinks containers.
What is a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)?
Currently, the UK consumes 14 billion drinks bottles and 9 billion drinks cans each year, many of which end up as litter in the environment or are sent to landfill. The purpose of the DRS is to minimise the prevalence of these materials in litter and landfill, by encouraging consumers to return their drinks containers to something called a reverse vending machine for a small cash incentive.
What are the benefits?
The DRS will help to build on the UK’s current efforts to tackle plastic waste, claiming to achieve targets of 85% fewer containers as litter within 3 years of its launch. The UK’s current efforts include the Plastic Packaging Tax and Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. In addition, also announced this week was the ban on single-use plastics that will be introduced in the UK from October 2023. These legislations will help the overall fight against climate change, improving recycling rates across the UK and promoting a circular economy.
What does this mean for producers and retailers?
The announcement states that a Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) will be appointed by next year. This consortium of industry experts will work to finalise regulations such as return payments and decide how it will work best for the UK. The information as of now, states retailers who sell in-scope items will have to host return points. For producers, it will be their responsibility to ensure efficient collection and recycling of the returned containers.
Defra claims that successful DRSs achieve recycling rates of 90% or above, which has been evidenced in schemes across the globe. Whilst there is still question around the solutions for other materials, such as glass, this is hoped to be a step forward toward the elimination of plastic pollution and the development of the circular economy.
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