The government is “working at pace” to make a crucial decision on whether to block the breakaway Wales deposit return scheme, it has said.
In November, the Welsh government launched an application for devolved powers to push ahead with a scheme that will include glass returns, as well as plans to introduce a mandatory reuse target for companies.
Wales threatened to pull the plug on its plans and dash hopes of a UK-wide October 2027 launch of the scheme in the process if Westminster did not give the go-ahead.
Replying to a parliamentary question on its intentions, environment minister Mary Creagh said: “The government has been engaging with stakeholders to gather evidence and feedback on the impact of the proposal on the UK internal market in order to inform its response to the Welsh government’s proposal.
“The government is working at pace to be able to communicate its position within the Resources & Waste Common Framework, in line with the processes set out in the 2025 review.”
The crucial decision is pending amid huge questions over the future of the DRS rollout, with The Grocer revealing earlier this week that companies bidding to run the Welsh government’s scheme will insist on a “bail out clause” that could see them pull the plug if it goes it alone with radical plans for mandatory reuse and glass bottle returns,
The deadline for bids to run Wales’s Deposit Management Organisation runs out on Friday. The Grocer understands there is only one bid in the running, led by representatives of the same companies that were appointed to run DRS in the rest of the UK in April last year, including the likes of Coca-Cola, Tesco and the Co-op.
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