The statement follows the news yesterday (25 November 2024) that Defra has now laid the regulations in parliament for the DRS in England and Northern Ireland.
It was announced last week (18 November 2024) that Wales will be pulling out of the joint DRS process.
Welsh deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, said in a written statement that the decision was made due to issues “caused by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020”.
He added that the nation will continue to develop a DRS which “delivers for Wales”.
Keep Britain Tidy’s statement of support comes alongside a coalition of NGOs who support “getting DRS done”, including the Marine Conservation Society, Reloop and Trash Free Trails.
Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: “The environment cannot afford further delays.”
“Drinks containers make up more than half of the litter that’s out in the environment and in our communities. Every day, 22 million bottles are ‘lost’ from the recycling loop to litter, landfill or incineration. This is not acceptable and in DRS we have a policy that can make a real difference, reducing littering of cans and bottles by up to 85%. We stand fully behind Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Defra on the implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme as soon as possible.
“It is mortifying and disappointing – although not entirely surprising – to read headlines that suggest that further delay to the scheme would be beneficial. For the sake of the environment, we all need to work together and put our full support behind the scheme.”
Sandy Luk, chief executive of the Marine Conservation Society, added: “Drinks-related litter has been recorded on 97% of UK beaches surveyed by our volunteers. We are therefore delighted to see the legislation being laid in the UK parliament for DRS in England and Northern Ireland.
“The UK government’s commitment to implementing DRS, along with similar commitments for Scotland and Wales, means that in time we will all pay a small deposit for our drinks and then get money back when we return the container. This is great news, because we know that these systems really work – they reduce litter on our beaches and increase recycling.”
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