Welsh Govt abandoning UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme efforts ‘extremely disappointing’
November 18, 2024
UKHospitality Cymru has said the move to pursue a separate scheme, not aligned with the rest of the UK, will increase cost and complexity for businesses.
In a written statement, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, confirmed that the Welsh Government were ‘not able to proceed with the joint process’ to pursue aligned Deposit Return Schemes across the UK.
The statement said the Welsh Government will pursue the development of its own scheme, with the inclusion of glass. UK-wide efforts had excluded glass, due to staff safety and storage concerns.
Our response
David Chapman, Executive Director of UKHospitality Cymru, said: “It’s extremely disappointing that the Welsh Government has abandoned the collaborative effort to develop aligned Deposit Return Schemes across the UK.
“Successful Deposit Return Schemes will deliver maximum alignment and interoperability between nations. That unfortunately now looks further away than ever with this decision.
“A Welsh scheme, which is not aligned with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, only serves to increase cost and complexity for businesses operating across the UK, makes the objective of improving recycling more difficult and could lead to a reduction in products available in Wales.
“I would urge the Welsh Government to carefully consider all cross-border issues in the development of its scheme to ensure that Welsh businesses can have the easiest transition into any new scheme proposals.”
