The Welsh Government have rejected Exchange for Change’s application to become its deposit return scheme administrator.
The Welsh Government have now reopened applications to become the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) for its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), setting a new deadline of 2 June 2026.
According to multiple reports, Exchange for Change, the DMO for the DRSs in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is believed to be the only organisation to have submitted an application.
Exchange for Change did not respond to a request for comment.
The Senedd has now dissolved ahead of elections on 7 May, which means no DMO can be appointed until the next government takes office.
Last year, Wales withdrew from developing an aligned DRS across the UK. In a written statement, Welsh Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies explained that Wales could not proceed with a DRS aligned across the UK due to issues caused by the UK Internal Market Act.
Circular Online learned that the Welsh Government withdrew due to time constraints that prevented the UK Government from considering a request for an exclusion from the UKIM Act.
Scotland’s DRS collapsed in 2023 after the then Conservative Government declined a request for full exclusion from the UKIM Act, which meant it could not include glass in its scheme.
Wales’s DRS is set to include glass as an in-scope material when it launches alongside the other UK nations’ schemes in October 2027.
However, there will be a four-year transition period where no deposit is charged on glass containers to manage interoperability with the other UK schemes. Glass containers will also be exempt from labelling during this period.
At the end of the transition period, the Welsh Government says it also plans to phase in reuse as part of the scheme.
