Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the Deposit Return Scheme and its effect on carbon emissions as part of its Net Zero Review.

The government’s 2019 manifesto committed to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) to incentivise people to recycle plastic and glass drinks containers, subject to further evidence and analysis. The objectives of this system include boosting recycling levels, offering greater opportunities to collect higher quality, uncontaminated materials in greater quantities, thus promoting a circular economy, and reducing littering. The specific details of a DRS will be developed further and presented in a second consultation in 2021.

HM Treasury’s Net Zero Review is not considering detailed policies to decarbonise specific sectors, including the planned deposit return scheme. This is in line with the Review’s terms of reference, published in November 2019 and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-review-terms-of-reference/hm-treasurys-review-into-funding-the-transition-to-a-net-zero-greenhouse-gas-economy-terms-of-reference. The Review will instead explore how the transition to a net zero economy will be funded and where the costs will fall. It will look at options for a balance of contributions between households, businesses and the taxpayer, and how to maximise economic growth opportunities from the transition. The Review will be published in spring 2021. HM Treasury published an interim report in December 2020 which set out our approach and analysis which will inform the final report.