Plastics and Metals: Recycling
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review the inclusion of (a) plastic containers and (b) metal cans in the extended producer responsibility scheme following the rollout of the deposit return scheme in 2027.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government is not currently considering changes to the scope of pEPR or Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The DRS regulation sets out the requirement for the Government to conduct a post implementation review of the DRS to consider its effectiveness, costs, and benefits. This will be conducted once the scheme has been operational for enough time to allow sufficient data to be available.
When considering whether the scope of the scheme needs to be updated, the department would be open to considering the views of those managing the DRS and those who represent materials which could be considered as part of the scope of a DRS in the future. Any changes being considered would be subject to the standard practices of consultation and analysis / impact assessment development.
Such reviews would also need to consider associated policies, such as extended producer responsibility for packaging, which captures all non-DRS packaging. Potential changes to the materials scope would also need to reflect the additional costs from infrastructure requirements such as changes to collection, logistics, retrofitting, and equipment lifespan.
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