Deposit Return Scheme FAQs

In most countries with a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), bottles and cans have a barcode which is scanned at the return point, which then gives you back the deposit. Any bottles or cans produced before the DRS is in placewould not have this, so would not be able to be returned for a deposit. Many reverse vending machines will still accept these bottles and cans but would not give out a deposit as no deposit would have been paid originally. 

Littered bottles and cans that do have the DRS logo and barcode on them, however, will be able to be returned for a deposit if the barcode can still be read and the bottle or can is not too contaminated.

Yes we did – many people will remember ‘glass cheques’ or returning bottles of pop for a deposit across the UK. These deposit systems were run by individual companies rather than a national scheme.  

The most popular drinks containers that had deposits on historically were milk bottles, beer bottles and soft drink bottles. These systems were mainly for refill and reuse but sadly, with the rise of cheap single-use plastic, nearly all of our local refillable schemes stopped.  

We now want to bring back those fantastic refill schemes nationally and hope that the DRS for single-use containers will provide the infrastructure for refillable options in the future, with Wales already leading the way with its plans.

We want the Deposit Return Scheme to work fairly for everyone and to encourage the highest return rates. We hope that the Deposit Management Organisation will work with companies that deliver bottles and cans to ensure that a return service is also included. This would involve empty bottles and cans being collected when the next delivery arrives, with the deposit managed through the online shopping software and a scanner from the delivery driver.

The packaging EPR scheme (pEPR) is an extended producer responsibility scheme in the UK for all types of packaging. EPR follows the ‘polluter pays’ principle whereby those who produce products that can end up as litter are responsible for covering the full costs of their products becoming waste. 

If a container is included in the DRS, then it's automatically excluded from the packaging EPR scheme which charges producer a fee for any packaging they place on the market. 

Our Beachwatch data has been vital at several stages of the campaign to call for DRS across the UK! From providing evidence at the start of the campaign in Scotland that led to us being founding members of the APRS led ‘Have You got The Bottle?’ campaign to the multiple consultations we have responded to, including the most recent one in Wales last year, Beachwatch data has been a vital part of our advocacy. 

The Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), which is the company set up to run the scheme in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland,  recently consulted on the deposit amount. We responded supporting a 20p deposit across all drinks containers due to be included in the scheme.

We hope to see many benefits for local councils with the implementation of a well-designed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). With less bottles and cans ending up as litter, not only is this good news for our seas and beaches but it will also save local councils money on litter picking and street cleansing costs. It’s estimated that it could save  local authorities around £30 million per year in street cleaning costs. 

We encourage the Deposit Management Organisation who is running the scheme and industry to work closely with local authorities to ensure the best result for both the environment and wider waste collection, recycling and reuse targets.

As far as we're aware, the deposits will be on each individual can or bottle; for example, a six-pack of cans would have a deposit amount worth six single deposits added at point of purchase.  

Schools can be involved in many different ways with a well run Deposit Return Scheme. In Denmark, we saw brilliant educational opportunities put on by the Deposit Management Organisation by creating educational corridors in their sorting facilities to see first hand how the recycling process works.  

Schools also use DRS as a great fundraiser and can run ‘bottle drives’ where pupils collect and save up bottles and cans and bring them into the school and the deposits go towards a school fundraising initiative. 

Schools could also be return points and have the opportunity to get a ‘handling fee’ the same as retailers and businesses that become return points especially if the school sells drinks. 

Schools have also already been involved in helping gather the evidence we need for the DRS including taking part in Beachwatch and our Source to Sea Litter Quest. By taking part in citizen science before and after the DRS starts schools can help demonstrate how well it is working to reduce litter. 

We have over 100 free downloadable resources for schools across the country to access, we promote these widely and feature a spotlight on resources links to DRS via our education e-news.

We promote these materials and engage young people across Scotland in DRS-linked education work via our Scottish Seas Roadshow, a transformative ocean literacy project funded for three years by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to connect with inland and coastal audiences across Scotland. Part of this work includes children writing to their MSP’s, designing posters to encourage the local community to use DRS in 2027 and policy and advocacy workshops (such as the one in Juen 2026 during World Ocean Week) to highlight how young people can use their voice to support policy. As part of World Ocean Week we are also running an art-competition for two age categories (up to 16 years, and 16 years and over) to design a community poster for their local area encouraging the public to use DRS, there are prizes for winners and a chance to have their work displayed professionally.

The company ‘Exchange for Change’ has already started communicating about the Deposit Return Scheme due to start in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to businesses and retailers via their website, webinars, in person meetings and social media. When a DMO is appointed for Wales this will be part of their role too.  

As we get closer to the October 2027 start date we expect to see more public facing campaigns which could include, posters, social media, radio and TV adverts and press coverage. 

The Marine Conservation Society sits on the DMO Consumer Forum and has already shared some recommendations which you can find on our website. If you would like us to raise anything, including how you think the scheme should be promoted and communicated please do get in touch.  

We want to make sure the DRS is accessible, fair and works for everyone. 

There will be some exemptions for small businesses and there is no expectation for all businesses to have things like a reverse vending machine or take back drinks containers they do not sell. 

We hope that acting as a Deposit Return Scheme(DRS) return point will help small businesses through receiving a handling fee from the Deposit Management Organisation (Exchange for Change), and by encouraging increased footfall. 

We would encourage all businesses to get in touch with Exchange for Change to find out how to make the most of DRS. 

We're calling on the Deposit Management Organisation to ensure charity donation options are included in the roll out of the Deposit Return Scheme. In many countries when you return your bottle or can, you can choose to donate your deposit to a charity. We would love people to have the option to donate their deposit to the Marine Conservation Society if they would like to!  

If you don’t return your bottle or can at all, then your deposit will be classed as an ‘unredeemed deposit’. To begin with, unredeemed deposits will have VAT applied and the rest will go back into the running of the scheme. The DRS is not a profit-making system.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will apply to all drinks types, as long as they are sold in acontainer included in the DRS. So, this would be plastic bottles (PET) and aluminium and steel cans from 150ml to 3L in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is a system where you pay a small deposit, such as 20p, on top of the price of a drink. When finished, you return the drinks container to a collection point – like a supermarket or shop – and get the deposit back. 

It’s a simple but effective system that reduces littering, puts value on what’s commonly seen as ‘worthless’, and encourages people to pick up drinks litter that they find. 

All four UK nations have committed to implementing a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles and cans, with Wales also including glass, by October 2027 – but we need to keep up the pressure to make sure DRS becomes a reality. 

A reverse vending machine is where you can return bottles and cans to get your deposit back. Most machines are designed to be able to scan the barcode on the label and store the containers while returning your deposit to you via an app, your bank card or through retailer vouchers.

Once the DRS for single-use drinks containers has been implemented, we would like to see DRS infrastructure used to support the development and roll out of national reuse and refill schemes. We would also like to see other materials such as tetra packs included in the DRS going forward.

There are over 50 countries around the world with a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in place and more are implementing DRS or planning to implement DRS in the next few years.  

Curious to know the effect deposit return schemes have had elsewhere? 

Watch our video series showcasing DRS in Latvia and Denmark and how they will transform the UK. 

It’s likely that you’ll be able to return your empty drinks containers where you can buy a bottle or a can, from shops to cafés. This could be using a reverse vending machine in a large supermarket or simply returning over the counter at your local corner shop.

Plastic bottles (PET) and aluminium and steel cans from 150ml to 3L will be included in the schemes in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales is yet to confirm the containers accepted in its scheme, but it will also include glass, which will be phased in with no deposit initially. 

DRS is a producer responsibility scheme following the polluter pays principle. This means the producers who make the drinks containers are responsible for paying for the running of the scheme. 

Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) are a form of producer responsibility, so the schemes will be run by drinks producers such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Lidl, Tesco and others.  

A Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) has been set up by the producers to run the DRS in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s public facing name is ‘Exchange for Change’.  

Wales is yet to confirm the DMO for its scheme.

In March 2026 regulations were passed in the Senedd in Wales to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme that would include plastic, metal and glass following an exclusion via the UK Internal Market Act.  

There will be a transition period for glass which means there will be no deposit attached to glass drinks containers to begin with. There are then plans to phase in reusable options for glass.

Our friends at Reloop estimate that 31 billion single-use drinks containers are purchased annually in the UK; however, UK Government statistics show that only 70-75% of these are being collected to be recycled.  

Reloop's DRS Factsheet highlights that modern Deposit Return Scheme can achieve a 90% recycling rate.