Wales To Re-Align Deposit Return Scheme With UK-Wide Plans
Welsh government is to accelerate the implementation of its recycling scheme for drinks containers to ‘maximise interoperability’ and align with UK 2027 launch date
Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister And Cabinet Secretary For Climate Change And Rural Affairs, Wales, said “£she has listened carefully to industry’s concerns about the risks that come about as a consequence of there no longer being a single approach that works for the whole of the UK.”
“We have heard clearly from industry that the scenario where a scheme is introduced in the other parts of the UK, with no scheme in place in Wales, carries the greatest risk of operational complexity and associated costs.
“I have therefore set out to industry that we are willing to accelerate our implementation timetable to align with the rest of the UK, which would provide for interoperability between common materials.”
Glass remains in the scope of the Welsh scheme, and she said there was a need for clear arrangements to ensure there are no ‘unintended consequences’ caused by the difference in scope.
“Specifically, industry have highlighted the need for a phased approach within which there would be no requirement to have different labelling and no fraud risk, as this would also prevent consequential impacts on current production and distribution arrangements.”
This represents a practical and pragmatic solution which we will therefore work to incorporate within the scheme.”
“In bringing forward a scheme that supports the roll-out of reuse, we are not only ensuring our DRS is future-proofed and will deliver tangible benefit for the people of Wales — we will also continue to play an important role in helping to shape a more coherent and sustainable approach for the whole UK.”
Carla Brian, Biffa’s Head of Partnerships, said:
“Positively, the Welsh Government has decided to accelerate the implementation timetable for its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for beverage containers, bringing it forward to October 2027. This move aligns timings and the scope of materials with that of all four nations and ensures that, wherever people are, they will be able to take part in the same scheme.”
“The Welsh Government has extensively engaged with stakeholders, including Biffa, producers, and retailers to get to this place, and we applaud the ambition to keep Wales at the forefront of recycling performance. The focus now must be on delivering effective implementation, and we look forward to working with all four nations to deliver DRS for plastic and metal drinks containers.”