Deposit Return Schemes: Wales

(asked on 19th March 2025) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on aligning the UK-wide bottle return scheme with the planned scheme for Wales.


Answered by
Mary Creagh Portrait
Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 28th March 2025

The Government is committed to deliver a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England in October 2027 and to realise its benefits of reducing litter, increasing recycling, and creating high quality recyclate that will support the transition to a circular economy.

Following a period of joint development of DRS across all four nations, the Welsh Government made the decision to withdraw from this approach in November 2024.

Defra Ministers remain in close contact with Welsh Government counterparts through bilateral meetings, calls, and written correspondence. Officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they take the decisions regarding a DRS in Wales.

The UK Government is keen to keep the door open to provide as much interoperability of schemes across the UK as possible.

Reticulating Splines