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Following a debate last night (21 January), the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) regulations have now passed through the House of Commons.

As previously reported, the scheme was initially announced in 2018 and was meant to apply to all four nations of the UK. However, in November last year, Wales announced it would be pulling out of the scheme.

In correspondence with the Welsh, Scottish and UK Governments, the ACS has outlined what it believes to be the guiding principles of a successful, well-designed and effective DRS. These are that the scheme should be consistent across the UK, must be at worst cost neutral for retailers, that glass shouldn’t be included and return points should be strategically mapped, and that the scheme should prioritise colleague and customer safety.

ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “We welcome the progress of the scheme in parliament, but there is still much to do to ensure that the UK is ready by the October 2027 deadline. Return points need to be strategically mapped, retailers need to prepare their stores, and a whole new level of recycling infrastructure needs to be set up.”

In addition to all the above, the Conservative party has today announced it no longer supports the scheme (which it initiated) on the grounds it will bring unwanted cost and complications to businesses. Several supermarket leaders have also expressed concerns about the scheme, which they say have been ignored. The British Retail Consortium has also said it has concerns about the implentation of the scheme after issues in Scotland. 

However, the director of waste and resources at Defra, Emma Bourne, reacted to the results on LinkedIn, saying “DRS is on track and will go live in October 2027. A very big day, delivered by a brilliant team.”