One Year to the UK's Deposit Return Scheme!
Image by Rich Baybutt. Words by Rach Coleman.
When TFT officially started work on the deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers, some of our friends at organisations like MCS, KBT and Reloop had been meeting so long their original group chat was on Skype. I naively thought no brainer policies - like putting a 20p charge on drinks containers that can be exchanged at return points which then enable the bottles and cans to go back into the system to be recycled - surely can’t be that hard?
As we mark one year to go for what will be one of the biggest game changers for our trails - I want to deep dive into not only why this policy is so vital for our wild places, but why schemes such as this take time, deserve our long-term commitment, and need us in this final sprint to October 1st 2027.
Why is DRS so beneficial for our trails
Let’s start with the good stuff - the data. Thanks to our almost 10,000 volunteers who have been removing and recording single-use pollution in places they love, we have a stronger picture than ever before of the prevalence and impacts of drinks containers on our trails.
Maybe this shocks us - but it shouldn't. It’s simply that the facts of our single-use economy are less visible to us than the single-use pollution on our trails.
Coca cola produce 200,000 plastic bottles every second globally. 31 billion single-use drinks containers are purchased annually in the UK. Our own data suggests up to 2.3 million of the items polluting UK public rights of way are cans and bottles. Our wild places are drowning in ever-rising quantities of discarded, dropped or lost drinks containers.
But these stats aren’t all doom and gloom - in fact, if you spin them into a glass half full story (our favourite kind), you see a very different picture.
The story of the prevalence of drinks containers in our wild places is also the story of why DRS will be so transformative for these places. They’re two sides of a coin, and thankfully international examples of deposit return schemes the world over showcase just how beneficial they can be for tackling single-use pollution.
If it’s so good, why is it taking so long?
Or rather - why does our deposit return scheme deserve a little patience, as well as a little passion!
We have waited over a decade for DRS to be implemented in the UK - it having been included in the government's 2018 Waste and Resource Strategy. Even by legislative standards this is a long wait; sadly, sometimes policies that are no-brainers and have significant public backing still fall prey to political football, and DRS is no different.
Thankfully we’re now past that point and we’re seeing a real collective commitment to raising the reverse vending machines and cutting ribbons on October 1st 2027. But there’s still some way to go, and it requires rallying more than the TrashMob.
DRS isn’t just the work of the UK government; it’s a collaboration between producers, retailers, hospitality, eNGOs and charities like us, waste management and recycling providers and local authorities. Everybody has a crucial role to play - but that means it requires considerable shared commitment, vision and motivation to realise it, and this takes time to build. If you’ve been around for some time you might remember Dom’s old equation: TRUST = TOIL + TEA. Working together and spending time together with a shared goal - that’s where the magic happens.
We’re excited to see Exchange For Change, the new deposit management organisation who are overseeing the scheme, bring everybody together to ensure DRS is as ambitious as it is fair.
Our job in this big team effort is to maintain attention on the environmental benefits of DRS, keep our trails in sight, and provide invaluable data that tells the story of its success. We’ll keep telling this story, and celebrating the steps taken by everyone else involved, each one bringing us closer to the scheme’s introduction.
And even though today marks a significant milestone, there’s still more to do - including you, our amazing community. We’ve been patient, but now is the time to take action too!
How can you help bring the deposit return scheme to life!
There’s still some time until we hit the gas on rallying full public support for the scheme, but as our dedicated and incredible volunteers, we know you like to hit the ground running.
There’s three key actions you can take today to give the deposit return scheme a bit of love this month:
Tell your mates! Down the pub, on your next ride, after run club, or the neighbour you bump into on your dog walk. Tell them it’s happening next time you’re discussing drink container pollution.
Write to your MP and remind them why it’s important. After the 2024 general election we’ve still got many first-time MPs who haven’t heard of the scheme, or know it’s coming into force. Remind them, and tell them why it matters to you. We’ve got a template email for you here.
Submit trash data this autumn. We’re rallying our community for our annual Autumn Trail Cleans (more on that tomorrow!) - join a local event, host your own, or head out solo. The more data we have on drinks container based pollution, the more detailed a picture we will create of the benefits of DRS for the places we love.
We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into DRS! We’re going to be sharing more information about the scheme later this autumn as part of the State of Our Trails Report - be sure to sign up to our newsletter for the latest.
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