The commitment was made as the government laid regulations in parliament relating to creation of a DRS in England and Northern Ireland.
The accompanying document, which was made public on 25 November, included a paragraph stating that the regulations would “come into force on 1 October 2027″.
This regulation is expected to become law in January 2025 and enables the government to progress with the appointment of the Deposit Management Organisations later in the year.
The Welsh Government withdrew from the UK-wide DRS earlier this month and plans to push ahead with its own scheme.
However, Defra remains confident the implementation of the scheme will not be delayed as a result of this decision.
“The UK Government is fully committed to a DRS and will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland to launch the scheme across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in October 2027,” said a Defra spokesperson.
“We look forward to working closely with industry on successful delivery of our DRS.”
‘One step closer to DRS’
Jenni Hume, UK and Ireland director at circular economy non-profit Reloop, praised the government’s continued commitment to an October 2027 implementation date.
“We’re delighted to see the new UK Government progress with the DRS for England and for Northern Ireland which will do so much towards cleaning up our communities and creating a circular economy for packaging,” Hume said.
“While our drinks container recycling rates languish at an average of 70% in the UK, we can see the clear merits from other countries of a deposit return scheme. For example, Germany has succeeded in delivering a 98% collection rate through its scheme. While the advantages of including glass bottles are clear, even without this material the environmental benefits of this scheme still vastly outweigh the costs of doing nothing.
“With strong public and political support for the policy, we are pleased that this tried and tested circular economy measure is one step closer to finally being rolled out across England and Northern Ireland, and in turn the wider UK.”
