Welsh Government pulls out of UK’s plans for Deposit Return Scheme

The UK Government says they’re fully committed to a Deposit Return Scheme and will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland to launch the scheme across England, Scotland and Norther Ireland in October 2027.

On the 18th November 2024, the Welsh Government announced a delay to their Deposit Return Scheme. With Wales already ranked second in the world for recycling, they are in a unique position of implementing a scheme into an already high recycling nation. For this reason the Welsh Government are working on a scheme that is right for their context

Deposit Return Schemes are a proven way to drastically reduce littering of single-use drinks containers, to drive up recycling rates and support the Government’s aim to move to a circular economy.

Deposit Return Schemes have been proven to significantly reduce drinks container litter, as well as other types of, as drink containers can act as magnets for other types of litter. Given the huge amount of PET and metal drink containers on the market (12 Billion PET and 14 Billion cans), this would make a huge difference.

The introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme will create around 4,000 new jobs across the UK and will bring in investment in infrastructure requires to deliver the scheme.

“We are firmly committed to our timeframe of launch a Deposit Return Scheme in October 2027. As the next step we intend to lay regulations for England and Northern Ireland in November 2024” – The UK Government

Find the full update here

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