Deposit Return Scheme passed by UK
The legislation for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers passed in the UK House of Commons on 21 January 2025 with votes 351 for to 74 against the bill.
The votes for the Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024 largely came from the Labour MPs in the House of Commons, whereas the against vote largely came from the Conservative MPs in the House.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock Labour said, ‘With this scheme, we can turn back the plastic tide.’
It applies to England and Northern Ireland, but officials have worked closely with the Scottish Government, who are amending their existing legislation to launch simultaneously across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland in October 2027.
The Welsh Government have withdrawn from the four-nation DRS approach.
Although Baroness Hayman of Ullock said England remain in close working partnership with Wales. She said ‘We are keen to keep the door open to provide as much interoperability of schemes across the UK as possible.’
Retailers across England and Northern Ireland will be obliged to participate in the scheme by charging a deposit on plastic and metal drinks containers then taking the containers back and refunding the deposit.
They are also required to pass the collected containers to the deposit management organisation for recycling and to display information to consumers so that they understand how the scheme works.
These obligations on producers and retailers across England and Northern Ireland will start from October 2027, when the scheme is launched.
The deposit management organisation, which will be appointed in April 2025, will be obliged to meet collection targets, pay return point operators for collecting the containers, recycle the collected containers and pay national enforcement authorities.
Under the 'polluter pays' principle, it is the responsibility of businesses to bear the costs of managing the packaging that they place on the market.
Through specific return point exemptions based on store size, proximity to another return point and suitable premises grounds, this instrument also protects small businesses across England and Northern Ireland, which are vital to our high streets and are the backbone of our economy.
The new act will make provision for monitoring and enforcement activities by the Environment Agency and local authority trading standards to ensure that mandated businesses and the deposit management organisation are compliant.
The Conservative MP Lord Hayward said, ‘My concerns are about why glass is excluded, the international basis of the operation and its similarity with others, and small businesses that will carry a burden in one form or another.’
Whereas Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, a Liberal Democrat MP pointed to the slow progress of this legislation and said, ‘The power to introduce a DRS was enshrined in the Environment Act 2021, nearly four years ago, but the issue was being debated as early as 2019, with Defra running two public consultations. The first gave 84% support from those participating; the second, 83%, so why has it taken so long to get to this position?
'They say that Rome was not built in a day, but I despair at the leisurely timeframe. Meanwhile, the country is knee-deep in waste.’
