...in the wake of the government decision to focus on plastics when the new, much delayed-scheme, is put in place.

After we led the campaign that won a commitment from then environment secretary Michael Gove to implement a DRS in 2018, the government continues to drag its feet. Meanwhile devolved administrations of Wales and Scotland have created their own schemes.

‘Deeply disappointing’

Commenting on the much delayed Deposit Return Scheme, Chris Hinchliff, CPRE’s campaigns manager, said:

‘This is deeply disappointing from the government. A Deposit Return Scheme that doesn’t include glass bottles is weak and an abandonment of yet another manifesto promise.

‘There is nothing remotely difficult about this – it simply requires ministers to stand up to the vested interests of supermarkets determined not to take responsibility for the waste they are knowingly causing. Glass bottles must be included in DRS and retailers must be made to pay the full costs of their highly profitable businesses.

‘The government first announced that it would introduce a DRS way back in 2018. Ministers need to stop watering down the proposals and get on with it. The countryside is paying the price, with discarded bottles and other packaging littering footpaths, fields and streams.’

Harm to people and wildlife

We reiterated our call for an all-in DRS after a major Green Clean litter pick which found that more than 1 in 10 drinks containers volunteers collected were glass – and that figure didn’t include the shattered pieces of glass that volunteers were unable to count. This risks harm to people and wildlife if glass is excluded from a DRS.

Chris added: ‘Supermarkets claim recycling the glass bottles they sell would be “too costly for the system”. But the cost is currently paid by councils and taxpayers. These multibillion pound businesses continue to shirk responsibility because they’re allowed to.’School children explain to the then environment secretary Michael Gove why an all-in deposit return scheme is so important.

Letter to subscribers:

Hi Nic

Earlier this year, Ministers announced that the long-awaited Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will finally be introduced in 2025 [1]. 

On the surface, this sounds like great news. But what does this announcement actually mean?

Let's break this down a bit more. 

After the Secretary of State announced in 2019 that a DRS will go ahead, we’ve waited two years for a consultation on its implementation, and another two years to hear the outcome of this consultation – only to hear that we need to wait another two years for the scheme to finally be introduced. That’s a total of six long years between announcement and action – it's not good enough. 

On top of this, the Westminster government announced that the English DRS won’t include glass, despite Scotland and Wales adopting the all-in DRS we’ve been calling for (that includes all drinks container materials).  

This is a kick in the teeth - it means that millions of glass bottles will end up in the sea, in our rivers, in our green spaces, when they don’t need to [2]. 

Having said all this, it would be remiss not to say that without your support and persistence, we wouldn’t be here at all. After 15 years of continued pressure, we have seen once again that campaigning pays off – that we can make a difference. 

So, while we continue to watch and scrutinise the government following this announcement, it’s worth pausing and taking stock on how far we’ve come. Because it’s a long way.

 Read our reaction

With the news that Scotland is under pressure to delay or water-down its comprehensive DRS – set to be implemented later this year [3] – the importance of championing an effective and socially just DRS remains critical.  

We’ll keep you updated as things change, but until then, thanks so much for all you’ve done to help us get where we are. Your actions have a real impact. 

All the best, 

Chris

Chris Hinchliff

Campaigns Manager | CPRE The countryside charity

[1] Time to go all-in for a deposit return scheme, says CPRE - CPRE 

[2] Money in the (bottle) bank: deposit return schemes explained - CPRE 

[3] Scotland's bottle deposit return scheme: Westminster set to block upcoming deposit return scheme – The Scotsman