Deposit Return Scheme: glass drinks containers UK government policy statement
Published 25 April 2024
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This document sets out the UK government’s position on glass drinks containers in the Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) in England. It is intended to be read alongside the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers joint policy statement published by the UK government, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government. These documents provide clarity on the approach for DRSs across the UK.
Approach to glass in England
The UK government are ambitious in their aim to increase recycling rates and reduce litter, ensuring resources are protected, kept in use for as long as possible, and waste is minimised. We will continue to prioritise reducing inflation and supporting families with the cost of living as the DRS is taken forward and we will consider the appointed Deposit Management Organisation’s approach to setting deposit levels.
There is no change to the position on materials in scope of DRS for England since we published our updated position in March 2022. The DRS will include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, steel and aluminium cans only – this will be set out in the DRS regulations. Glass bottles will not be in scope.
This is because including glass creates undue complexity for the drinks industry and it increases storage and handling costs for retailers. Glass containers are heavy and fragile, making them more difficult for consumers to return and receive the deposit they have paid, potentially forcing up the cost of their shopping. Moreover, glass is littered less: the Keep Britain Tidy litter composition analysis of 2020 presented that 55% of litter was from PET plastic and metal drinks containers, compared to just 4% from glass drinks containers. We want to work with industry on an ambitious re-use and refill initiative and will provide further detail shortly.
Glass drink containers will be in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR), and producers will be charged fees for the management of this packaging once it becomes waste from April 2025.
The Welsh Government are taking a different approach: they intend to include glass when their scheme launches. We will continue our conversations with Welsh Government, but if their position does not change, we will reiterate the duty to protect the UK internal market and facilitate free trade within the UK.
Avoiding barriers to trade across UK single market
It is essential that businesses can continue trading unhindered across the UK and ensure better prices and choices for consumers, particularly in the context of current cost-of-living pressures. The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 (UKIMA) enshrines the principles of mutual recognition and non-discrimination across our shared market because the free flow of trade across the United Kingdom is vital to businesses and consumers.
The UK Government recognises that the introduction of DRS will be an important new undertaking for businesses and notes the widespread and serious concerns about the impact of different approaches being taken across the UK. These differences would likely result in costly burdens to businesses and supply chains, particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors who would need to separate their supply chain and labelling, as well as adding to consumer confusion and inconvenience.
In May 2023, in response to the Scottish Government’s request for an exclusion from the UKIMA market access principles, the UK Government outlined the need for interoperability and alignment of DRS. The UK Government noted the impact on trade and, in particular, consumer choice created by permanently different arrangements on glass within the UK internal market. The UK Government indicated that it did not propose to grant an exclusion to UKIMA in respect of glass containers. The UK Government position on this has not changed.
Based on the available evidence, the UK Government do not consider that there is sufficient justification for granting a UK Internal Market Act exclusion for glass in any UK DRS. However, any application for an exclusion from the Welsh Government would be considered on the evidence presented.
When DRS launches, businesses and consumers will continue to be protected by the market access principles of UKIMA in respect of the sale of drinks in glass bottles across the UK. In plain terms, this means that drinks in glass containers made or imported into England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be subject to a Welsh DRS which includes glass.