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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling producers to transfer their first right of refusal to material recovered under the deposit return scheme to a third party processor.

The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) regulations 2025 require Exchange for Change to offer registered scheme producers first refusal on scheme material. The Regulations do not provide for transfer of that right. Any arrangements involving third-party processors are an operational matter for Exchange for Change.