The Welsh government has confirmed plans to launch its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in October 2027, in line with the UK-wide rollout.
Welsh deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs Huw Irranca-Davies announced the commitment to accelerate its own implementation after “engaging extensively” with the new Deposit Management Organisation (DMO).
In a statement, Irranca-Davies said she had “listened carefully” to the industry’s concerns about the potential risks from there no longer being a single approach that works for the whole of the UK.
“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,” said Irranca-Davies.
“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.”
Wales announced its decision to withdraw from the UK-wide DRS last November due to the exclusion of glass from the scheme and its determination to “focus on reuse”.
“Glass remains in scope of our scheme, as this means that in Wales, we will be able to begin to roll-out reuse as a core part of the scheme,” added Irranca-Davies.
“It also means we can continue to improve glass recycling against our baseline performance - by improving on the go recycling - whilst tackling the littering of all forms of drinks containers.”
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) criticised the inclusion of glass in the Welsh scheme, a move that would see glass bottles returned to be refilled and reused rather than recycled.
It would introduce “operational differences” for Welsh retailers who would have to collect glass bottles separately and keep them whole for collection and re-filling, said the ACS.
“We have learned over the last decade of talks and trials on the introduction of a deposit return scheme that the operation of the scheme is complex. This becomes exponentially more challenging when there are fundamentally different approaches in different parts of the UK,” said James Lowman, chief executive of the ACS.
“Today we have seen welcome alignment around the treatment of all materials except glass, but the inclusion of glass in Wales and of an entirely different model to that being used elsewhere in the UK will promote a host of questions about how retailers will collect glass bottles, with no answers available yet.
“ACS and our members are fully committed to making a DRS scheme work despite significant operational challenges. This unnecessary operational complexity and uncertainty leaves businesses running and supplying shops in Wales confused and frustrated.”
According to the ACS, the Welsh government rejected the DMO’s offer to align with the wider UK scheme - which included a separate trial reuse scheme in Wales - and decided to push ahead with its own scheme.
Suntory said the announcement is a “really positive step” in providing the certainty it needed to move forward.
“The October 2027 rollout is a crucial milestone in the UK’s path to net zero and together with Wales we can accelerate progress for a circular economy for drinks containers,” said Elise Seibold, chief operating officer at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I.
Meanwhile, EcoVend managing director Travis Way said it was good to get clarity from the Welsh government as it would give “vital direction” to drinks manufacturers, retailers and the wider waste sector as they prepare for implementation.
“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.”
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