The UK government and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has appointed the UK’s Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) to run domestic deposit return schemes (DRSs).
The schemes, which are expected to be introduced in October 2027, will cover single-use plastic and metal drinks containers in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
The Scottish Government has also chosen the DMO to act as the official scheme administrator for Scotland.
This decision brings the management of DRSs under one operator across the three countries within the UK.
The DMO is a non-profit organisation led by the industry, with its role comprising setting up and managing essential parts of the scheme such as producer registration, logistics, financial systems, fraud controls, and communications.
A report from the Countryside Charity suggests a new centralised DRS could create as many as 4,000 jobs across the UK.
The DMO will now begin working with governments, businesses, environmental groups, and consumer organisations.
The organisation’s board is made up of representatives from the drinks and retail sectors of England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
The board members come from companies such as Shepley Spring, Radnor Hills, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Heineken UK, Lidl, Tesco, and Co-op.
Once the DRS begins, a small deposit will be added to drinks containers between 150ml and three litres, refundable upon return for recycling.
The DMO’s board said: “DRS is an opportunity to deliver a transformational step forward in the circular economy in the UK and the appointment of the DMO is a major milestone in that journey.
“We don’t underestimate the scale of the challenge, but our aim is simple – to build a system that’s fair, efficient and easy to use.
“Our work is already underway, and we’ll be working closely with governments, businesses of all sizes, environmental groups and consumer bodies to move forward as quickly as possible.”
