Welsh charities urge UK ministers to stop blocking deposit return scheme

Adam Johannes

A coalition of Welsh environmental and charity organisations has written an open letter urging UK ministers to allow Wales to go ahead with its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The scheme would give people a small deposit back when they return plastic bottles, cans, and glass, helping to recycle more and reduce litter.

The disagreement with Westminster comes because Wales wants to include glass in the scheme, while the plans in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland do not.

The letter, addressed to the Secretaries of State for Defra, Business and Trade, and Wales, is signed by Keep Wales Tidy, Marine Conservation Society, Surfers Against Sewage, Trash Free Trails, Afonydd Cymru, Wales Environment Link, and Cardiff Rivers Groups.

It calls on the UK government to “approve the proposed exclusion under the Internal Market Act” so the Welsh Government can move forward.

The letter points out that Wales has been a leader on environmental issues for a long time. For example, Wales was the first place in the UK to introduce the plastic bag charge, which later spread across the UK.

The charities say the scheme works the same way, it lets Wales make its own decisions to deal with local environmental problems and meet the needs of its communities. Blocking Wales from moving forward with its own DRS they argue goes against the spirit of devolution.

“A Deposit Return Scheme is exactly the kind of policy intervention devolution was designed to enable. It sits clearly within devolved competence, has been developed over several years through engagement with businesses, local authorities and civil society, and was legislated for in good faith by the Senedd.”

Evidence

Owen Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy, said: “People across Wales care about keeping their environment clean. A Deposit Return Scheme that includes glass would reduce litter, make public spaces safer, and improve our towns and beaches. Wales has taken a thoughtful, evidence-based approach, and it’s important that we are able to move forward as planned.”

The charities warn that litter is a serious problem in Wales. “Over half of public spaces contain DRS-target materials, and broken glass appears in around 8% of locations”. On Welsh beaches, nearly half have littered glass, the letter states. They urge the UK Government to work with Wales to introduce a policy that could tackle rising levels of litter, broken glass, and pollution.

They also highlight evidence of strong public support, with UK-wide surveys showing that 86% of people back including glass in a DRS, the letter notes that glass was part of the original UK-wide plan, and campaigners say current problems are because Westminster narrowed the scheme, not because Wales changed its own rules.

The debate comes as UK trade magazine, The Grocer reports that companies bidding this week to run Wales’s scheme are seeking a “bail-out clause”. This would allow them to back out if Wales proceeds with mandatory reuse and glass bottle returns while the rest of the UK does not.

Suppliers say that including glass could create cross-border chaos and that “the Welsh government’s radical plans to set mandatory reuse levels for drinks containers could impose costs on manufacturers.”

The Welsh DRS is proposed to launch next year, alongside schemes in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.