Soft drinks companies and retailers look set to torpedo the Welsh government’s proposed solution to the 2027 launch of the UK’s deposit return scheme.
Earlier this month, Wales announced a “compromise deal” to keep alive hopes of a joint UK launch date, as it revealed it was willing to accelerate its timetable for a DRS rollout.
However, Wales has insisted on standing apart from the rest of the UK by keeping glass within the scope of its scheme.
It has suggested a solution whereby single-use glass is included “from day one” in the Welsh scheme, but does not require deposits or changes to labelling.
Meanwhile, it claimed to have agreed to work with the drinks industry on a large scale reuse trial to develop a pioneering system to move to a nationwide model of reuse for glass.
On Friday, the Welsh government published a document saying the mass reuse trial would enable industry to “test how best to incorporate reuse within their systems” and draw from approaches that have been developed in other countries.
“Industry have proposed that a large-scale reuse trial be undertaken which will build on the DRS trials that we have already undertaken in Wales and from which we will then move to the Wales wide rollout of reuse,” it added.
However, The Grocer has been told by leading industry sources that the Welsh interpretation of the situation is far removed from what they believe to be a workable compromise.
“It appears that the Welsh compromise involves them wanting to have their cake and eat it,“ said one source.
“If Wales insists on going ahead and including single-use glass in its DRS scheme from day one there won’t also be a big industry investment in a reuse trial. That is simply not going to happen.”
The source said the industry faced huge costs of installing DRS machines that could handle single-use glass and that with no deposits and labelling there would be “no incentive” for consumers in Wales to use the facilities.
“What industry is prepared to do is to lean in to what would be a multi producer, multi-retailer trial of a reuse system for glass.
“That could involve things like shared washing facilities and shared bottling facilities.
“Nobody knows how that would work or what it could entail, maybe a whole city trial in Cardiff or Swansea, but it is not something that will be ready to go on day one in October 2027.
“And if the Welsh government expects industry to also stump up multiple millions on single-use glass from the off, then they are not going to get both.”
The source added: “We’re all scratching our heads trying to work out how they think this will work.”
Talks reach deadlock
While DRS supporters have welcomed the Welsh moves to accelerate its plans, The Grocer understands the huge distance between the two sides has led to deadlock in talks between the Welsh government, Defra and the industry DMO appointed by Westminster to launch the UK rollout in October 2027.
However, on Friday the Welsh government repeated its claims that it was not to blame for the collapse of joined-up plans.
“The situation is not of the Welsh government’s making and comes about as a result of the previous UK government diverging from an approach that worked for the whole of the UK,” it said.
Meanwhile, the BRC said retailers “simply could not accept” the Welsh insistence on including glass from day one of the scheme.
“Together, we stood ready to partner with the Welsh government to trailblaze a robust, evidence-led shift to glass reuse – potentially forging a pathway for the UK’s wider circular economy ambitions,” a spokesman said..
“Following months of intensive engagement, retailers and producers put forward a first-of-its-kind glass reuse pilot, facilitated by the UK DRS DMO Ltd. This offered a practical route to avoid the significant cost and complexity of propping up a return-to-retail model for single-use glass in one nation whilst also establishing a DRS for plastic and metal containers.
“Unfortunately, our offer was not accepted. Whilst we welcome the Welsh government’s intention to align timelines with the rest of the UK on plastic bottles and aluminium cans, we cannot support the impractical intention to include glass bottles from day one.
“The decision to include single-use glass at scale within the Welsh DRS makes a reuse trial unviable. Industry simply cannot justify investing in innovation while also absorbing the high, sunken costs of a legacy system that is unlikely to improve glass recycling rates. There is also a real risk that the costs of packaging in glass skyrockets, forcing producers to bottle in other materials, making glass reuse harder, not easier, to deliver. Regrettably the recent guidance from the Welsh government provides no clarity on how these problems can be overcome.
“We remain committed to working with the Welsh government on a solution that delivers for the people of Wales – including a large-scale reuse trial – as part of a realistic UK-wide deposit return scheme.”
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