Deposit Return Scheme administrators Exchange for Change has stated that it will set aside a total of £60m to provide grants to small independent retailers over the first three years of scheme operation.
Exchange For Change recognises that some small, independent retailers will still be required to host return points, and that the upfront cost of RVMs can be a barrier.
Grants will be targeted at small, independent retailers where an RVM is the most appropriate solution based on expected return volumes. Funding will be provided in addition to the Return Handling Fee (RHF), as announced by Exchange for Change on April 2.
The proposed grant level is £6,000 per site, paid over three years, structured as three annual payments of £2,000, with the first payment made approximately three months after implementation.
The grant is intended to support retailers with the initial capital outlay of RVM installation, improve the viability of participation for smaller retailers, and help ensure a well-distributed and effective return point network.
The overall funding envelope and detailed eligibility criteria will be developed further, alongside operational performance requirements to ensure value for money and support scheme outcomes.
Under the DRS, only groceries retailers (such as supermarkets, convenience stores and newsagents) are required to host return points open to all consumers. Other points of sale – including hospitality venues, leisure locations, online retailers and vending machine operators – are not obligated to operate return points.
These businesses will still be required to apply deposits to in-scope drinks sold for potential off-premises consumption and provide appropriate information to customers. Where drinks are consumed on-premises, a closed-loop approach may apply, with containers retained for collection rather than returned by consumers.
However, under the regulations, retailers in urban areas with a retail space under 100m² can automatically exempt from operating a return point. These retailers will not be required to apply for an exemption, although they may choose to operate a return point.
In addition to this provision, Exchange For Change is exploring the introduction of additional conditions under which other retailers will be able to apply for an exemption from operating a return point where this does not undermine local consumer access.
These conditions are intended to cover proximity to alternative local return points, and the ease with which a store is able to host a return point, considering criteria such as physical space and layout constraints, health, safety or hygiene risks, building or heritage restrictions, and utilities or infrastructure limitations.
It is intended that all urban retailers between 100m² and 199m² of sales area and rural retailers under 200m² of sales area would be able to apply on this ground for exemption on the basis of their physical space limitations.
Any exemptions would be subject to approval by Exchange For Change and would be contingent on sufficient local provision of return points.
The full proposed exemption policy is currently under review by regulators across England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, and we hope to be able to share all further detail with you over the coming weeks once this review process is complete.