The Welsh Government has officially decided to withdraw from the UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
In a written statement published today, Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said Wales was “not able to proceed with the joint process at this point”.
Despite the UK’s DRS scheduled to rollout in October 2027, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs highlighted the issues caused by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, which has been “inherited by the UK Government from the previous administration”.
He said: “We have been working to initiate a joint process to appoint the Deposit Management Organisation for our respective schemes later this month. However, in the time available it has not been possible to address the issues to the operation of devolution caused by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020”
Irranca-Davies reassured that the Welsh Government remains commited to developing a DRS specificaly designed for Wales and supportive of its “ongoing transition to a circular economy”.
”Our active engagement with industry has highlighted that there are currently a range of views on how best to achieve the transition to reuse,” he said. ”We will therefore continue our active engagement to develop a scheme that supports the transition to reuse for all drinks containers including those made from glass. In doing so we will also continue to draw from international best practice.
“In parallel with the development of the Welsh DRS, we will also continue our work to improve our recycling, having once again seen an increase in our latest recycling rates this year,” he added.
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