Environment Minister confirms commitment to Deposit Return Scheme

The Environment Minister has confirmed that his Department’s plans to take forward the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are still in place, despite the announcement of a delay to the proposals by the Welsh Government.

The DRS is a money-back scheme for single-use drinks containers, which will incentivise people to recycle their drinks bottles and cans to redeem their deposits.

The DRS has a 90% return target for drinks containers and will drastically reduce littering. The scheme in Northern Ireland will include single-use drinks containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel, and aluminium from 150ml to 3 litres, which is the same as the successful scheme launched in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year. Glass bottles will not be captured but glass will be covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme, which will place targets on producers for glass recycling.

Minister Andrew Muir said that while it is disappointing the Welsh scheme is delayed, he remains fully committed to DRS being implemented as soon as possible in Northern Ireland.

“My Department will continue to work closely with Scotland and England, to ensure our schemes go-live together in October 2027 as planned. DRS went live in Ireland in February of this year, and I am keen that the scheme in Northern Ireland is introduced on a similar basis and without further delay.”

In addition to the Deposit Return Scheme, DAERA is introducing an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for packaging, which will mean packaging producers and manufacturers will cover the costs of recycling and disposing of their packaging. This will drive higher collection and recycling rates of packaging and covers any drinks containers not included in the DRS such as glass, cartons, or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, which is used for most fresh milk packaging.