The government has been told it has a four-week window to rescue the chances of a UK-wide deposit return scheme launch in October 2027.
The warning comes after The Grocer revealed the Welsh government had launched an application for devolved powers to push ahead with its version of the scheme, which includes glass, unlike the rest of the UK. It said that if it did not get the go-ahead, it would pull out of the scheme.
The Welsh government has also announced it has begun the process of trying to appoint a deposit management organisation (DMO) to run the scheme. This is despite warnings from retailers and suppliers that its plans for glass and making reuse targets a mandatory part of its scheme are potential deal-breakers.
Leading industry sources told The Grocer that unless the government agreed to the Welsh government’s application under the devolevdf plans regulalations within weeks, the combined launch date was a “non-starter”.
Failure to persuade Westminster to allow its plans, also including glass, was a key reason for the collapse of the Scottish government’s pioneering DRS in 2023.
“With the looming Welsh elections and huge uncertainty over what political make-up its government will be after that, it effectively means that there are about four weeks to sort this out if there is any chance of October 2027 happening,” a source told The Grocer.
“It’s extremely tight and this is a real make or break period for the UK launch that everyone in the industry wants.”
Insiders have warned of the threat of DRS fraud on an “industrial scale” if Wales does not introduce DRS at the same time as the rest of the UK, with an estimated 10 million people living on the border between Wales and England.
Sources said that despite the timeframe and the issues over glass, they were still hopeful a compromise could be found.
In a statement last week Welsh deputy prime minister Huw Irranca-Davies said it was vital for the future of the scheme to ensure certainty for businesses that the scheme was lawful and would not suffer the same fate as Scotland.
“We have also been clear that should that exclusion as requested not be agreed, this would lead to the scenario where there would be no DRS in Wales, and as such an exclusion would be required for the schemes in other nations,” he said.
The process to appoint a DMO in Wales comes with the Welsh government also refusing to back down over its plans to make a huge shift to reuse a fundamental part of its plan, despite huge opposition from retailers and suppliers.
Last week, The Grocer revealed Wales’ radical plans to set mandatory reuse levels for drinks containers as a key part of its DRS risked imposing costs on manufacturers that would “dwarf” that of EPR, according to the FDF.
Irranca-Davies said: “We have also listened carefully to their calls to commence the process to appoint the DMO as early as possible.”
Despite the differences of opinion over glass, the same drinks companies and retailers that make up the membership of the UK DMO are favourites to take over the running of the scheme when it does finally get off the ground. Sources said this gave hope that “common sense will win the day” in the political stand-off, unlike the outcome in Scotland.
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