The newly appointed deposit return scheme body, UK DMO, is already locked in talks with the Welsh government about how it can be brought back into the fold of a DRS to avoid border chaos and an avalanche of fraud, The Grocer can reveal.
The withdrawal of Wales from plans for a UK-wide DRS from October 2027 was seen as a hammer blow to the rollout, and had threatened to delay or even collapse the whole project.
However, last week’s appointment of the industry-run body is said to have provided a fresh impetus for more talks to salvage hopes of co-operation.
Fraud fears
One source told The Grocer talks were being held “every few days” and focused on how to achieve cross-border alignment and avoid a new wave of industrial-scale fraud when the UK scheme launches, amid fears crooks will look to import products from Wales to be sold without deposits.
Similar fears were raised ahead of the ill-fated plans for Scotland to launch a DRS ahead of the rest of the UK.
The ultimate aim of the UK DMO is to somehow persuade the Welsh government to climb back on board to create an interoperable scheme, after it pulled out when the UK government chose to exclude glass from the scheme.
“There are definitely discussions going on,” added another drinks industry source. “They are positive but no one should get too excited yet.
“The big problem is that with the Senedd election less than a year away, some kind of common framework or operating model would have to be put in place before then.
“One option would be for producers and retailers to set up some kind of voluntary scheme (PET/cans) in Wales.
“But would the Welsh government be comfortable with that, or would they see it as potentially torpedoing their long-term plans for reuse/glass?”
Supermarkets in charge?
Meanwhile environmental campaigners and MPs, despite having spearheaded calls for a DRS, have now turned against the organisation set up to run it because of the inclusion of supermarkets on the board.
The UK DMO is a not-for-profit organisation run by companies including the likes of Lidl, Co-op and Tesco.
Campaign groups claimed supermarkets were being left to “mark their own homework”.
“Big supermarkets are deliberately stalling the action we need to see and must not be left to mark their own homework when it comes to tackling plastic pollution,” said Dominic Dyer, chair of Nature 2030.
“With the biggest high street retailers now sitting on the board of Britian’s recycling scheme for single-use bottles, there are serious concerns about whether they will put profits before environmental protection.
“Why should billion-pound companies be deciding our environmental laws when their track record shows they clearly cannot be trusted?”
Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet and the Plastic Health Council, added: “Supermarkets are turning a blind eye to the mountains of waste they produce each year, and they will not clean up their act alone; ministers must legislate.
“While the government is taking action to boost the recycling of single-use bottles though a deposit return scheme, this is a drop in the ocean.
“Plastic production is set to rise exponentially, and beverage containers are a fraction of plastic waste. If we are to see any real change, wholesale reduction in the production of plastic is desperately needed for the health of not only the planet but our bodies.”
It’s understood the industry-led option to run the UK scheme was the only bid received by Defra.
Industry leaders have stressed they will be investing hundreds of millions into running the scheme.
Last week Defra also announced plans to hand the running of its flagship extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme to an industry-led body, with a selection process due to begin in October.
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