UK DMO begins work to deliver deposit return schemes

UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) has today been announced as the operator of the new Deposit Return Schemes for single-use plastic and metal drinks containers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The appointment has been made by the UK Government and DAERA. In Scotland, Scottish Ministers have also decided that UK DMO should be designated as the DRS scheme administrator.

UK DMO is a business-led, not-for-profit organisation created to deliver one of the most significant environmental infrastructure programmes in a generation across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Once launched, the Deposit Return Schemes will cut litter, boost recycling and reduce carbon emissions.

According to a report from The Countryside Charity, introducing DRS is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs across the UK and will bring significant investment in infrastructure required to deliver the scheme including storage, logistics, and reprocessing.

UK DMO will now begin engaging with partners including the three governments, business, including drinks producers and retailers, consumer and environmental groups to design and operate a scheme which works for everyone. Producers, retailers and other interested parties are encouraged to visit the UK DMO website and register their interest in getting updates at https://ukdmo.co.uk

UK DMO is governed by a Board that brings together voices from across the drinks and retail sector across all three nations. Members have been nominated by trade associations representing both large and small producers, major supermarkets, small convenience stores and wholesalers from across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Recruitment is also underway for an independent Chair and non-executive directors.

The Board includes highly experienced figures from companies including Shepley Spring, Radnor Hills, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Heineken UK, Lidl, Tesco and Co-op. Many of the Board members bring experience working in international markets where deposit return schemes are already in place.

UK DMO is responsible for designing and operating the systems that make the scheme work – from producer registration to logistics, finance, fraud prevention and public communications.

In a joint statement, the UK DMO 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.”

UK DMO has been tasked by the three governments with delivering a Deposit Return Scheme to go live in October 2027. From that date, when people buy drinks containers made from PET plastic, steel and aluminium between 150ml and 3 litres, they will pay a small deposit – which they will get back in full when they return the empty container for recycling.

Every year, 6.5 billion drinks containers are discarded across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. contributing to 43% of all litter. The scheme aims to reduce this significantly while increasing recycling rates and reducing emissions.

British Soft Drinks Association Director General, Gavin Partington said: “The British Soft Drinks Association welcomes the UK Government’s appointment of UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd as scheme administrator for its Deposit Return Scheme. This appointment marks a key milestone in realising the opportunities of a more circular economy, driving £1.13bn of industry investment over the next three years and creating more than 4,000 jobs across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The British soft drinks industry looks forward to playing our part in ensuring successful delivery of a DRS by October 2027.”

British Retail Consortium Director of Food and Sustainability, Andrew Opie said: “A well-designed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), with retail at its heart, will be an important contribution to delivering a circular economy in the UK. We welcome today’s appointment of the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) to oversee the DRS. Retailers and the BRC have been central to the DMO’s development, committing significant funding, time and resource to get to this point and we are pleased that our voice will continue to be heard as the initiative progresses.

“The DMO must now get to work to ensure the smooth delivery of a DRS that works for businesses and consumers. We look forward to engaging with them and the government to ensure that DRS makes a meaningful difference to recycling across the UK.”