Image by Pete Scullion. Words by Rach Coleman and Dom Ferris.
After some serious nail biting over the last few days, we’re thrilled to share that the Regulations for England and Northern Ireland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) have made it through UK parliament, and will come into force on Monday 27th January.
This is a policy over a decade in the making, but one our trails desperately need. Our most recent State of Our Trails Report identified that 33% of the single-use pollution our volunteers are surveying are DRS-eligible drinks bottles and cans. With the introduction of the scheme, a third of the single-use pollution on our trails could disappear, almost overnight.
In her opening statement to Parliament, Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh stated, ‘this government won’t waste time tackling waste.’ With 352 MPs voting to approve the DRS Regulations, we’re delighted these words turn to action.
Dom reflected on this momentous achievement today, sharing, “Our data suggests that there are over 3 million DRS-eligible drinks bottles and cans polluting the UK’s trails and wild places. After today this doesn’t need to be a disappointing figure but an opportunity.
“We’re now one step closer to eradicating those 3 million items, leaving our trails better than we found them. That’s what’s so unique about a DRS - it’s taking the trash out for nature, as well as ourselves.”
We’ll be watching closely as the Regulations come into force at the end of this month, and the process begins to select and establish the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) - the not-for-profit who will bring the Scheme to life.
With the Regulations drafted, our focus will be on ensuring that the DMO and Government remain focused not only on the immense benefits of the Scheme for our wild places, but also the importance of bringing the public along on the journey to its introduction in October 2027.
This for us includes continuing to build our unique dataset of the impacts of single-use pollution on recreational trails. We're finding consistent examples like the one pictured here - of a small mammal becoming trapped in eligible drinks containers, and this, sadly, is the most compelling data we can share with policy makers and industry, to highlight that this is more than politics - it will save lives.
It isn’t just their DRS; it’s ours, for us and the places we love. Learn how to take action here.
Let us know what you think about the deposit return scheme on our latest Instagram post!