Legislation to implement a Deposit Return Scheme (DSR) in England and Northern Ireland has come into force today. The scheme will be introduced from Oct. 1, 2027.
The House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament, voted 352 to 75 in favour of the legislation on Jan. 20, 2025. The system will cover single-use plastic, steel, and aluminium drinks containers.
Now the legislation has come into force, enabling the appointment of the scheme administrator in April 2025. The so-called Deposit Management Organisation will be a not-for-profit, industry-led body responsible for the administration and day-to-day running of the scheme, the UK government said in a statement.
Scotland is still processing the legislation in its own parliament. Wales will not join the other three nations in the joint DRS due to a disagreement over the inclusion of glass containers.
Announcing the implementation of the legislation, the UK government pledged to ‘end the throwaway society and clean up Britain’.
“This is a vital step as we stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our streets, rivers and oceans and protect our treasured wildlife,” said circular economy Minister Mary Creagh. “Turning trash into cash also delivers on our Plan for Change by kickstarting clean growth, ensuring economic stability, more resilient supply chains, and new green jobs.”
The UK’s DRS was first announced in 2018 and was due to launch in August 2023. It has since been pushed back to 2024, 2025, and 2027.
The DRS will target containers between 150 ml and 3 litres in size. Any containers outside of this range will be in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, which has also been postponed to October 2025.
Reacting to the scheme’s approval in Parliament, industry members have welcomed the regulative clarity.
“We’ve been supportive of launching a DRS across the UK for a number of years as they are a proven way of increasing recycling, reducing waste and tackling litter,” said Stephen Moorhouse, vice president and general manager of Coca-Cola Europacific partners GB business unit. “Therefore, we welcome the clarity provided by the regulation for England and Northern Ireland and are encouraged by recent developments that will ensure an aligned scheme with Scotland, despite wider challenges around a UK-wide approach.”
“Delivering to the timelines will be challenging but achievable, and now is the time for industry to roll up its sleeves to create a well-designed system that works for businesses, shoppers and the environment,” Moorhouse continued.
Across the UK, consumers purchase an estimated 31 billion single-use drinks containers each year – 12 billion plastic drinks bottles, 14 billion drinks cans, and 5 billion glass bottles. Collection rates are currently at around 70% to 75%. The governments of the four nations want to increase recycling rates of single-use drinks containers to at least 90%.
UK’s neighbour Ireland has introduced its DRS in February 2024. Over 630 million containers have been returned in the first eight months of the scheme.