\n The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is designed to tackle litter and boost recycling rates by encouraging people to return empty drinks containers instead of throwing them away.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Government says the plans will help “stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our high streets, countryside, and oceans.”\n<\/p>\n
What is changing?<\/p>\n
\n Under the new rules, a refundable deposit will be added to eligible drinks containers when they are bought.\n<\/p>\n
\n Once the empty bottle or can is returned to a designated collection point, shoppers will receive their deposit back.\n<\/p>\n
\n The scheme will apply to single-use drinks containers made from:\n<\/p>\n
PET plastic<\/p>\n
Steel<\/p>\n
Aluminium<\/p>\n
\n It will cover containers between 150ml and three litres.\n<\/p>\n
When does the scheme start?<\/p>\n
\n The UK Government, alongside the Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, plans to launch the scheme in October 2027.\n<\/p>\n
\n Businesses across the drinks industry will begin preparing before then.\n<\/p>\n
What businesses will have to do<\/p>\n
\n Under the Government’s guidance: “Everyone in the drinks supply chain must charge the deposit to their buyers when they sell filled drinks containers included in the scheme.”\n<\/p>\n
\n This applies to:\n<\/p>\n
Drink producers<\/p>\n
Importers<\/p>\n
Wholesalers<\/p>\n
Retailers<\/p>\n
\n Ultimately, consumers will pay the deposit when purchasing eligible drinks before reclaiming it when they return the empty container.\n<\/p>\n
Why is the Government introducing it?<\/p>\n
\n According to Defra, the scheme aims to:\n<\/p>\n
Reduce litter<\/p>\n
Increase recycling rates<\/p>\n
Create higher-quality recycled materials that can be used to make new drinks containers<\/p>\n
\n Ministers hope it will dramatically increase the number of bottles and cans being recycled instead of ending up in landfill or littering public spaces.\n<\/p>\n
\n Recommended reading:\n<\/p>\n
Who will run the scheme?<\/p>\n
\n The scheme will be operated by the UK Deposit Management Organisation Limited, which was appointed in 2025.\n<\/p>\n
\n The organisation will oversee the system across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including:\n<\/p>\n
Meeting recycling targets<\/p>\n
Managing the collection system<\/p>\n
Publishing guidance for businesses<\/p>\n
Running public awareness campaigns<\/p>\n
Providing customer support<\/p>\n
What happens next?<\/p>\n
\n Businesses are continuing to prepare ahead of the October 2027 launch.\n<\/p>\n
\n For shoppers, the biggest change will be paying a small refundable deposit whenever they buy eligible drinks in plastic bottles or metal cans\u2014before reclaiming that money by returning the empty container for recycling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is designed to tackle litter and boost recycling rates by encouraging people to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-684315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}