Responding to the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement on the future of its Deposit Return Schemes in the UK, Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the BRC, said:
“We welcome the Government’s clarity around the timeline of a future Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Retailers will need at least 24 months to implement a multi-billion pound DRS scheme, and the government must now engage closely with the industry to ensure all details are fully ironed out ahead of the proposed 2027 start date.

“We are disappointed by the decision by Welsh Government to keep glass in the scheme, adding significant costs and putting it at odds with the systems in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is vital that the DRS scheme is aligned as far as possible across the UK to keep business costs down and maximise the benefit for consumers, while allowing clear messaging across the whole of the UK about how the scheme will function.”