Glass included in Wales’ DRS plans
In a cabinet statement yesterday (10 July), Wales’ deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies confirmed the country’s deposit return scheme (DRS) will be implemented in October 2027.
The cabinet statement confirmed that the Welsh government will be working to the same timeline as the rest of the UK for DRS implementation, and that glass will remain in scope of the Welsh scheme.
The statement read: “I have been engaging extensively with stakeholders to bring forward a DRS that delivers for Wales. These include the drinks industry, retail and materials sectors, environmental organisations, and the UK government-appointed Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), alongside colleagues in the UK, Northern Ireland, and Scottish governments.
“These discussions have reaffirmed the importance of a DRS that delivers tangible benefits for Wales, while maximising interoperability across the UK.
“Wales has a proud record of leading the way on recycling, and our DRS is being developed to build on and not detract from this success. In planning these next steps, we are therefore focused on ensuring that it will complement the collective efforts households, businesses, local authorities, and industry partners have made across Wales. In doing so, we are drawing on the world’s best schemes, where reuse is already delivering real-world benefits for businesses and consumers alike.”
The statement noted that while Wales has remained consistent with the previously agreed UK-wide approach, Irranca-Davies has listened carefully to industry’s concerns about the risks that come about as a consequence of there no longer being a single approach that works for the whole of the UK. “This is not a situation of the Welsh government’s making, as it stems directly from decisions taken by the previous UK government to depart from the agreed approach of a DRS that included glass,” he said. “I recognise, however, the importance of taking action to avoid unintended consequences and take these issues seriously.
“We have heard clearly from industry that the scenario where a scheme is introduced in the other parts of the UK, with no scheme in place in Wales, carries the greatest risk of operational complexity and associated costs. I have therefore set out to industry that we are willing to accelerate our implementation timetable to align with the rest of the UK, which would provide for interoperability between common materials.”
Glass inclusion
In summer 2023, the Scottish government delayed the scheme until October 2025 ‘at the earliest’, after it was ‘sabotaged’ by the UK government, which requested that glass be excluded in line with proposals for a DRS in England and Northern Ireland.
However, Irranca-Davis’ statement confirmed that glass remains in the scope of Wales’ DRS, which will allow the country to begin to roll out reuse as a core part of the scheme.
“It also means we can continue to improve glass recycling against our baseline performance,” he added, “by improving on-the-go recycling while tackling the littering of all forms of drinks containers.
“With surveys by Keep Wales Tidy in 2023-24 showing drinks-related litter on 43.6% of Welsh streets, with the presence of glass bottles more than doubling in four years, broken glass poses growing safety risks, especially in parks, play areas, and coastal locations. Tackling this issue is therefore central to our commitment to our communities and in line with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act will ensure our scheme delivers for our communities and for the environment.”
Furthermore, he recognised the need for clear arrangements to ensure there are no unintended consequences caused by the difference in scope.
Specifically, he said, the industry has highlighted the need for a phased approach within which there would be no requirement to have different labelling and no fraud risk. This would also have consequential impacts on current production and distribution arrangements.
“This represents a practical and pragmatic solution, which we will therefore work to incorporate within the scheme,” he said.
Commenting on the statement, Travis Way, managing director at EcoVend, said: “It’s good to get clarity from the Welsh government that they’re committed to delivering their own DRS in line with the wider UK timeline of October 2027. This gives vital direction to drinks manufacturers, retailers, and the wider waste sector as they prepare for implementation.
“We welcome the decision to keep glass in the scheme, and we look forward to supporting businesses across Wales to manage glass returns in a safe and suitable manner – helping to ensure the system works well for both consumers and industry.
“A well-designed DRS will play a key role in reducing litter, increasing the recyclability of single-use plastics, and keeping valuable materials in use for longer. For Wales, this is another important step towards a more circular economy – one where resources are reused, emissions are cut, and communities benefit from cleaner public spaces.”
Related news
