UK Government response to
Scottish DRS and Q&As

Deposit Return Scheme update at BRF 30 May 2023

At the BRF we shared the UK Government had agreed to a UK Internal Market (UKIM) exclusion on a temporary and limited basis.

The UK Government statement can be read in full here.

While there were several questions around the UKIM exclusion and its impact on the Scottish DRS, we’re unable to discuss further while discussions continue between the UK and Scottish governments.

We will endeavour to keep you updated and answer any questions at the earliest possible opportunity.  

DRS timeline for England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Below is an estimated summary timeline of the DRS scheme for England, Northern Ireland and Wales.  

Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers Q&A

As well as questions around the impact of the Scottish UKIM exclusions, BRF attendees raised several other questions to which the answers are given below. For those questions raised at the session and not answered here, we will endeavour to answer these in a future Business Readiness Forum or CPR newsletter. 

Question: Who exactly are you engaging with for the DMO role?

Answer: We are engaging widely across industry. There is a workshop on 7 June and have invited nearly 80 individual organisations including trade associations and individual companies representing small and large producers, small and large retailers, hospitality, wholesalers, local government, DRS technology and infrastructure firms.

We expect after this kick-off workshop for industry for those stakeholders to engage with other relevant parts of industry to bring them together.

Question: How should plastic milk bottles be reported under DRS? Are they classed as drinks containers?

Answer: Any container in scope of DRS will be included and reported through DRS even if it is milk in DRS in scope containers. For example, if there's a milk drink that's in PET plastic under three litres in size, then that would be in scope. If it's in HDPE plastic, then it's not in scope and most milk is in HDPE plastic. DRS is looking at the drink container rather than the drink itself.

Question: Are Scottish DRS items still excluded from EPR although the scheme is now delayed?

Answer: The Scottish scheme is due to be operational from the 1 March 2024 therefore, Scottish DRS materials or Scottish producers of DRS materials will be exempt from packaging EPR, both the disposal cost payments for household packaging and PRN obligations.