NSWA and British Soft Drinks Association’s joint statement following DEFRA’s 18 May announcement on the UK Deposit Return Scheme:
“We welcome the clarity that today’s statement provides in terms of forthcoming regulation on DRS and are particularly encouraged by progress made across the Four Nations on most aspects of an aligned DRS. However, a unified and consistent scheme is critical and it’s disappointing that the Welsh Government continues to be an outlier in calling for the inclusion of glass within scope. A lack of alignment in this area would create different market conditions within Great Britain, which, in turn, would confuse consumers and impede efforts to achieve the high collections rates of PET and aluminium beverage containers necessary to fuel the circular economy for beverage packaging.
We will continue to offer our full support to ensure the delivery of an aligned DRS and to this end, we urge the Welsh government to reconsider its approach to help unlock the way to an interoperable DRS that benefits the environment, consumers and industry alike.”