Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to expand the deposit return scheme for plastic and aluminium drinks containers to include glass drinks containers.

UK Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland consulted in 2019 and 2021 on the detail of introducing a DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In January 2023 we published the government response to the 2021 consultation, setting out policy decisions and next steps for introducing the scheme (link here).

As outlined in the government response, glass bottles will not be captured by DRS in England and Northern Ireland as the respective governments believe the addition of glass will add additional complexity and challenges to delivery of DRS in particular to the hospitality and retail sectors, as well as additional consumer inconvenience. Given concerns raised on managing glass in a DRS, delivery of the scheme will focus on plastic bottles and aluminium/steel cans in England and Northern Ireland.

Whilst not in-scope of the DRS in England and Northern Ireland, glass drinks bottles will be covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme in both nations, which will place targets on producers in relation to glass recycling. The proposed recycling target for glass packaging under EPR is 83% by 2030. Producers will also be responsible for the costs of managing glass packaging in household waste and disposed in street bins provided by local authorities.

England and Northern Ireland welcome continued engagement with the glass sector on how glass recycling rates can be improved through kerbside collections.