DRS roll out likely to be pushed to late 2024

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new consultation in the implementation of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Responding to the earlier consultation in 2019, Defra has said that it would hold a second consultation on the proposed regulatory framework for introducing a DRS through secondary legislation, including more detailed proposals for the nature of any such scheme.

However, the latest consultation would also seek to “explore further what the continued appetite is for a deposit return scheme in a ‘post-Covid’ context,” in the backdrop of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government said it anticipates that the introduction of the scheme would be in late 2024 at the earliest, instead of the current target of 2023, as a result of the pandemic impact.

The Scottish government is also assessing the impact of the pandemic on the go-live date for its scheme, currently scheduled to take effect next year.

In the Environment Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, the government has proposed a framework for DRS which might be implemented in the three nations, with a separate scheme already under development in Scotland.

Defra has also launched a consultation on its plans to introduce an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging, which will require packaging producers to pay the full cost of managing packaging once it becomes waste.

The department added that it will also be launching another consultation shortly on the introduction of consistent recycling collections for all households and businesses in England.

“These new changes will further ensure that more of what we consume is recycled and reused. They will stimulate the creation of alternatives to single-use plastics and establish consistent rules to help people recycle more easily across the country,” Environment Secretary George Eustice said.

The consultations on DRS and Extended Producer Responsibility scheme will close on 4 June.