C OV E R
DEPOSIT RET
Glass to be excluded from DRS in England and Northern Ireland Retailers in England and Northern Ireland will not have to handle glass drinks containers as part of their planned Deposit Return Schemes (DRS), DEFRA has confirmed.
N
ews of the exclusion, made within The ACS has consistently called for DEFRA’s response to a consultathe exclusion of glass in any deposit tion on reforms to the Extended return schemes, because of "the operProducer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, ational and health and safety issues” has been welcomed by the Association that it would present for store owners of Convenience Stores (ACS) which and staff. once again called for policymakers in Wales and Scotland to reconsider including glass in their schemes. Glass bottles will now fall within the scope of EPR in England, which will place targets on producers in relation to glass recycling and require them to pay for the cost of ACS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JAMES LOWMAN managing glass packaging generated by households. Northern Ireland will keep the incluCommenting on the news, ACS chief sion of glass under review until after the executive James Lowman said: “Retailers DRS is fully operational to ensure that in England and Northern Ireland will be glass drinks containers are meeting the relieved that they won’t have to handle required recycling targets. the return of glass drinks containers as
part of a DRS. “All of the operational problems related to a DRS – colleague safety, storage, handling heavy waste and breakages - are made much more acute by the inclusion of glass. “We are disappointed that retailers in Wales and Scotland will have to face into these problems and bear the significant financial and operational costs of doing so. “Furthermore, having different packaging types included in different parts of the UK will be a nightmare for wholesalers and producers who will have to make, store and distribute two versions of many products. “We hope that policy-makers in Wales and especially in Scotland, where the scheme is due to come into effect in just over a year’s time, will reconsider the impact of including glass in the scheme.”
“All of the operational problems related to a DRS – colleague safety, storage, handling heavy waste and breakages - are made much more acute by the inclusion of glass.”
EPR REFORMS SEEK TO REV-UP RECYCLING RATES Through the introduction of the pro-
rate of 78% by 2030, with the estimated
As part of the wider proposals for
posals set out in their EPR consulta-
recycling rates fexceeding those set in
EPR reform, packaging producers
tion and other environmental measures
the EU, and a minimum recycling rate
will be made responsible for the cost
like DRS, the Government is aiming to
for packaging that falls within the EPR
of managing the packaging that they
reach a total UK packaging recycling
scheme of 73% by 2030.
place on the market – this is expected
14 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 98 / WEDNESDAY 30TH MARCH 2022
