On Monday 25th November, 2024, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs laid regulations in Parliament to ensure that the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland will indeed go ahead as planned in 2027, despite Wales’s decision to develop its own scheme.
As Defra re-affirms commitment to a DRS across England and Northern Ireland with the publication of the regulations, Keep Britain Tidy issued a joint statement of support, alongside a coalition of environmental organisation, for ‘getting DRS done’ regardless of the developments between the UK and Welsh governments.
Countries running a DRS can see return rates for containers covered by the scheme climbing to up to 98%, whereas the UK is currently facing drinks container recycling rates at just 70%. Polling from Survation in May 2024 showed that 75% of those surveyed across the UK said they support the introduction of the DRS, with just six per cent opposing.
Keep Britain Tidy was joined in its calls by several other leading environmental groups, including the Marine Conservation Society, Reloop and Trash Free Trails, alongside Deirdre Costigan MP, Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall and Chair of the Tidy Britain All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, CEO, Keep Britain TidyDrinks containers make up more than half of the litter that’s out in the environment and in our communities. Every day, 22 million bottles are ‘lost’ from the recycling loop to litter, landfill or incineration. This is not acceptable and in DRS we have a policy that can make a real difference.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: “The environment cannot afford further delays.”
“Drinks containers make up more than half of the litter that’s out in the environment and in our communities. Every day, 22 million bottles are ‘lost’ from the recycling loop to litter, landfill or incineration. This is not acceptable and in DRS we have a policy that can make a real difference, reducing littering of cans and bottles by up to 85%. We stand fully behind Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Defra on the implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme as soon as possible.
“It is mortifying and disappointing – although not entirely surprising – to read headlines that suggest that further delay to the scheme would be beneficial. For the sake of the environment, we all need to work together and put our full support behind the scheme.”
Deirdre Costigan MP, Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall and Chair of the Tidy Britain All-Party Parliamentary Group, said: “As MPs, we constantly hear from local people who are disgusted with the mass of litter that is strewn across our streets and the countryside. Every bottle and can on the ground is not only directly damaging to nature and spoils our town centres, but is a waste of resources that could be recycled and used again.
"It's great news that the government has moved ahead so quickly with the Deposit Return Scheme following years of delay, and I call upon all my colleagues across parliament to get behind this popular scheme and ensure its delivery on schedule.”
Sandy Luk, Chief Executive of the Marine Conservation Society, said: "Drinks-related litter has been recorded on 97% of UK beaches surveyed by our volunteers. We are therefore delighted to see the legislation being laid in the UK Parliament for Deposit Return Schemes in England and Northern Ireland.
“The UK Government's commitment to implementing Deposit Return Schemes, along with similar commitments for Scotland and Wales, means that in time we will all pay a small deposit for our drinks and then get money back when we return the container. This is great news, because we know that these systems really work – they reduce litter on our beaches and increase recycling."
Deirdre Costigan MPAs MPs, we constantly hear from local people who are disgusted with the mass of litter that is strewn across our streets and the countryside. Every bottle and can on the ground is not only directly damaging to nature and spoils our town centres, but is a waste of resources that could be recycled and used again.
Jenni Hume, UK and Ireland Director at circular economy non-profit Reloop said: “We’re delighted to see the new UK Government progress with the deposit return scheme for England and for Northern Ireland which will do so much towards cleaning up our communities and creating a circular economy for packaging.
“While our drinks container recycling rates languish at an average of 70% in the UK, we can see the clear merits from other countries of a deposit return scheme. For example, Germany has succeeded in delivering a 98% collection rate through its scheme. While the advantages of including glass bottles are clear, even without this material the environmental benefits of this scheme still vastly outweigh the costs of doing nothing.
“With strong public and political support for the policy, we are pleased that this tried and tested circular economy measure is one step closer to finally being rolled out across England and Northern Ireland, and in turn the wider UK.”
Dom Ferris, Chief Executive of Trash Free Trails, said:
“More than a third of the trash that our volunteers remove from their trails and wild places are single-use drinks containers. So, with the announcement of regulations for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), we have taken the biggest step towards eradicating single-use pollution from our trails, in a generation. Approximately 1 in 10 of our citizen science surveys report animal death due to entrapment within a single-use drinks container, this fantastic ‘no brainer’ policy will create cleaner, healthier and happier ecosystems overnight.”
- The legislation can be viewed at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2024/9780348266221/contents
- Polling has consistently shown high public support for DRS, for example see https://www.reloopplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Public-opinion-research-on-DRS-May24.pdf
*originally published 26/11/2024*