In a move that could have an impact on retailers, representatives of the UK’s independent breweries have today (19 August) called for the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to be delayed for at least a year, saying a shocking lack of details has left them unprepared.
The DRS is scheduled to be introduced in October 2027 - only 13 months’ time. However, producers, especially small ones, say they need 18-24 months from when meaningful decisions are made to successfully implement the scheme.
In a letter to ministers, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), which represents around 700 small independent breweries, said we now face a “Scottish style meltdown of DRS” because of Wales’s failure to appoint an administrator or provide guidance on how their separate glass scheme would operate.
The new DRS is supposed to be organised by a Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) but as previously reported, the Welsh Government has failed to make a decision after previously rejecting the one application it received. They also plan to include glass while the rest of the UK is focusing on cans and plastic bottles.
However, no clarity has been provided on how the glass scheme will work and interact with the separate Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. This could result in small breweries being doubled taxed in Wales.
Scottish failure
The Scottish DRS collapsed in 2023 when it tried to implement a scheme with a different scope and timetable than the rest of the UK.
Andy Slee (left), chief executive of SIBA, said: “It feels like déjà vu on the DRS, where a lack of clarity and different rules across the UK doomed the scheme in Scotland before it could even launch.
“We want to see a DRS that works for all producers and consumers and the simplest way to do that would be to have the same scope and the same rules across the UK.”
Also commenting today, Malcolm Herbert from Core of the Poodle Brewery added that clarity was needed in advance of the scheme. “We’ve been trying to get clarity on how the DRS is going to actually operate but the Welsh Government has been dragging its feet on the appointment of an administrator and hasn’t clarified how glass in the scheme would possibly work.”
“The only way forward is to pause it for at least a year to give all four nations the extra time it needs to sort out the chaotic rules. If it doesn’t, then 90 Welsh breweries will be negatively impacted, won’t be able to compete across the UK and consumers will lose out.”
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