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 or his Cabinet colleagues at COP26 had with their international counterparts on the impact of deposit return schemes on tackling plastic pollution.

The consultation held earlier this year proposed the scheme would go live in late 2024, subject to views from the consultation. Final details of the timeline for bringing the deposit return scheme (DRS) into operation, as well as the scope of the scheme for material and size of drinks containers to be included, will be presented in a Government response which will be published in due course.

No specific discussions were had by the Secretary of State or Cabinet colleagues at COP26 regarding DRS. However, we know that successful international schemes have achieved upwards of 90% collection rates for drinks containers which can play a big part in tackling plastic pollution.