Contribution
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have made valuable contributions and asked extensive questions in this debate today. I will do my best to address as many questions as I am able.
First, the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, asked a large number of questions. I shall start with his question on why we need a scheme to take back empty drinks containers to the shops, when it will be easier for us just to carry on doing it at home. I shall explain the rationale for introducing a DRS alongside existing recycling collections. In the UK, despite having kerbside recycling systems that collect plastic and metal drinks containers, recycling rates for these materials have stagnated at around 70%, and they continue to represent a high proportion of litter by volume, at 55%. By introducing a DRS, we create a separate waste stream which can improve the quality of drinks containers collected for recycling by collecting them separately from other recyclable materials. Comparable international examples have shown that alongside kerbside recycling systems, a DRS can offer unique benefits to recycling rates and quality, and to littering, by offering a true circularity of the material, meaning that used bottles and cans will be made directly into new products.
The noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, asked about Germany. We believe that the German scheme is a good example of a DRS which has scaled up and matured since it was implemented in 2003. We can learn from an awful lot from the experiences in scaling up a scheme such as Germany’s, but there is also a lot we can learn from deposit return schemes launching more recently, which offer more up-to-date learnings in how you can successfully implement a DRS from scratch in today’s world. This has included engagement with other recently launched schemes in the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia, while drawing on direct experience across many of the European schemes—those in Latvia and Sweden, as well as Germany. As was said, the deposit return scheme in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland will launch in October 2027 and we do not intend to deviate from that, because we want to see the environmental benefits being made.
A number of noble Lords asked specifically about Wales and the interoperability of the four UK schemes. We recognise that this is a challenge and that industry has specific concerns. We are working through the detail with industry, including through facilitating meetings across our devolved nations to understand potential solutions. We are listening to industry’s views to see where we can support and ensure that DRS is successful across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. But in practical terms, the regulations also allow the deposit management organisation to work in an interoperable way with any other deposit return schemes, so when Wales proceeds with setting up a DRS, the deposit management organisation can work alongside a Welsh scheme administrator. How a scheme works in Wales will of course be for the Welsh Government to determine, but we want to continue to work with Wales and industry as we progress our DRS.
There is currently nothing that prevents DRS items produced in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland being sold in Wales, including those items labelled as part of a DRS. Businesses will need to take this into account when considering how this works for their product lines and supply chains. Any labelling requirements will be a matter for the DMO to provide detail and guidance on.
The pEPR regulations include an exemption for plastic and metal drinks containers across the UK as these materials are going to be captured through the DRS in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland when it goes live in 2027. Glass drinks containers across the UK will, as we have heard, be subject to the pEPR fees from January 2025. Because the future scope of the Welsh scheme is not yet confirmed, we want to work closely with the Welsh Government to ensure that the DRS and pEPR work effectively right across the four nations. Once we have the detail of the Welsh scheme confirmed, we can consider whether any further amendments to the pEPR regulations will be required.