A summit took place in London yesterday (5 July) between the four UK nations to discuss plans for a UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.
The summit brought the four nations together to coordinate work at a UK level and set principles for the design of potential schemes across the UK. The Ministers agreed to work together on a scheme’s design and operation.
A Deposit Return Scheme would see people pay a small deposit when they buy a drink in a single-use container and get that money back when it is returned empty.
Welsh Government Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn, and the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, met their UK and devolved government counterparts to discuss potential UK-wide schemes.
“Any scheme we introduce must be the best for Wales and work alongside our existing policies, which have made us first in the UK and third in the world for household recycling.”
Following the summit, Hannah Blythyn said: “We know about the impact single-use drinks containers are having on our environment, often blighting our countryside or ending up in our seas.
“I welcome working with the other UK nations on a UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme. There appears to be a collective appetite for a scheme from all UK nations, so this would be the most practical and effective way to implement a scheme.
“We are considering a number of solutions to reducing the impact of single-use plastics on our environment in Wales. Any scheme we introduce must be the best for Wales and work alongside our existing policies, which have made us first in the UK and third in the world for household recycling.”