UK Deposit Return Scheme: Are You Ready for 2027?

What is the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)?

A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is designed to boost recycling and cut down on litter. It works by adding a deposit to the price of in-scope drinks containers, which consumers get back when they return the empty container for recycling.

How the UK Deposit Return Scheme Works

There are four key financial transactions within the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS):

1. Producers will pay a fee for each container they place on the market. This fee will help fund the scheme’s infrastructure, collection and recycling operations, as well as administration.
2. Consumers will pay a refundable 20p deposit on every drink container covered by the scheme when they make a purchase.
3. The deposit will be refunded in full when the empty container is returned through an automatic Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) or manual return point.
4. Finally, retailers that operate return points will receive a Return Handling Fee (RHF) for every eligible container they accept.

Which drinks containers are covered by the UK Deposit Return Scheme?

While legislation, governance and timelines are now confirmed, further operational details continue to be developed by the scheme operators. The common core scope focuses on single-use drinks containers that are:

• Made wholly or mainly from PET plastic, aluminium or steel
• Sized from 150 ml to 3 litres
• Intended for single or short-term use
• Sold as individual units or as part of a multipack, with the deposit applied per eligible container

A container can stay in scope where its lid or another ancillary component is made of a different material. But reusable containers and HDPE bottles, such as many milk bottles, sit outside the England and Northern Ireland DRS scope. Liquid medicines and flavour enhancers, such as syrups or sauces, are also excluded.

UK Deposit Return Scheme rules across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

There will be legally distinct schemes in England and Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, designed to be as interoperable as possible. The cross-UK policy aims to support a common deposit level, shared labelling principles and reciprocal acceptance of in-scope containers bought elsewhere in the UK.

Glass is an important point of variation. The joint DRS policy says each administration will set out its glass position separately – and Wales has been clear that it wants glass included in their scheme. So - don't assume glass is universally within or outside DRS scope.

Our advice is to keep monitoring separate national requirements and to look out for further guidance.

The Return Handling Fees (RHF) payable to retailers were officially published on 2 June 2026 by the scheme administrator, Exchange for Change. Different rates apply to manual return points and reverse vending machines, helping retailers cover the costs of collecting and handling returned containers.

Who is Exchange for Change and what is its role in the UK Deposit Return Scheme?

Exchange for Change is a not-for-profit body formed by industry, for industry, and appointed to administer the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The DRS is a statutory scheme established by government. Exchange for Change is responsible for designing and operating it in accordance with that legislation, working alongside producers, retailers, wholesalers and hospitality businesses to ensure the scheme is delivered clearly, consistently and effectively

UK Deposit Return Scheme Producer Obligations Explained

A business generally has DRS producer obligations if it is the brand owner or manufacturer of an in-scope drink, imports such drinks into the UK, or fills and seals containers to order. This can include retailers selling own-brand drinks and certain hospitality businesses filling 'crowlers'.

From go live, affected producers must:

• Register with Exchange for Change – the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO)
• Apply the prescribed deposit to in-scope containers
• Transfer collected deposits to the DMO at the required point in the supply chain
• Pay producer fees, which will be linked to containers placed on the market
• Use DRS-compliant labelling and identifiers, such as the scheme logo and barcode or QR approach specified by the DMO
• Report volumes of in-scope drinks placed on the market

The DMO will set key operational details, including the deposit value, producer fees, return-point payments and detailed technical guidance. It will also manage scheme operations, collection targets, logistics and material flows.

UK Deposit Return Scheme Compliance Checklist for Producers

Here are your obligations as a producer in the run up to go live in October 2027:

• Change your labelling Exchange for Change shared the scheme logo and material spec in March 2026, ready for producers to comply. All in-scope products must have a DRS-compliant barcode that is registered with Exchange for Change and a UK Deposit Return Scheme logo. This ensures the product can be identified, returned and processed correctly within the scheme. Products without a registered barcode will not be accepted for return.Remember that in-scope containers with new, DRS specific barcodes and displaying the scheme logo MUST NOT be sold to consumers before 1 October 2027.

• Register with Exchange for Change Registration for producers with Exchange for Change for the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has not opened yet, but it is scheduled to begin in Q3/late 2026.Registration will be via their website at https://exchangeforchange.co.uk/9 July 2027 is the practical deadline for producer registration (12 weeks before launch)

• Start paying producer fees from the October 27 go live date From go live on 1^st October 2027, producers will pay the deposit value and producer fee to Exchange for Change for each in-scope container placed on the market.

UK Deposit Return Scheme vs Packaging EPR: Understanding the Differences

DRS and Packaging EPR both apply producer responsibility principles, but they solve different problems and use different reporting logic.

Packaging EPR requires producers to collect and report data on packaging activity, packaging type, class, material and weight. Large producers may also have nation data and recyclability assessment obligations. Records and supporting evidence must be retained for at least seven years.

How to Avoid Duplicating UK Deposit Return Scheme and Packaging EPR Data

The compliance risk is treating DRS and EPR as wholly separate data exercises and building two unconnected datasets. The better approach is a single product-and-packaging master dataset with two reporting outputs.

Key UK Deposit Return Scheme Reporting Principles

For the DRS materials expected to be covered, PET, aluminium and steel drinks containers within the 150 ml to 3 L range, government policy provides a time-bound exclusion from Packaging EPR disposal cost fees and labelling obligations, reflecting the fact that these materials will be managed through DRS. But businesses should not infer that this removes every EPR data obligation.

Current pEPR reporting guidance requires businesses to record drinks container data. For EPR, drinks containers include PET, glass, steel and aluminium single-use bottles or cans between 150 ml and 3 L. Large producers split them into household and non-household drinks containers, while small producers record all drinks containers as household drinks containers.

How to Create a Single Compliance Dataset for DRS and Packaging EPR

Create a product or SKU-level 'compliance record' containing:

• Brand owner, filler, importer and contractual producer-of-record
• GTIN or barcode, SKU, product description and sales format
• Container material and component materials
• Container size and unit count per multipack
• Single-use versus reusable status
• DRS eligibility result and rationale
• EPR classification: activity, type, class, material, weight and, where relevant, recyclability data
• Nation of sale or discard data where required
• Launch, withdrawal and packaging-artwork change dates
• Evidence sources, weight specifications, supplier declarations and approval history

Then generate two controlled outputs:

1. DRS output: product identity, barcode or identifier, eligible-container units placed on market, jurisdiction, deposit status and DMO reporting fields
2. pEPR output: packaging weights and classifications, including items outside DRS scope and the non-container packaging around the drink, such as multipack film, cardboard trays, sleeves, cases and transit packaging

This model prevents two teams from maintaining conflicting container counts, packaging weights or SKU lists. It also preserves an audit trail when a product changes material, format, volume or route to market.

Understanding DRS Exemptions, EPR Reporting and Compliance Requirements

A useful internal control is to add separate fields for:

• DRS in scope
• EPR reporting required
• EPR disposal fee treatment
• EPR labelling treatment
• Applicable jurisdiction
• Effective-from and effective-to date

That distinction matters because a PET bottle may be in DRS scope and subject to DMO reporting, while the carton, shrink film, tray or pallet used to distribute it remains relevant to Packaging EPR. In the same way, an out-of-range drink container may fall outside DRS but still remain in EPR.

Need help with UK Deposit Return Scheme and EPR Compliance?

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