Deposit Return Scheme

Drinks litter is one of the most commonly found items on our beaches. We are calling for Deposit Return Schemes to be urgently introduced.

What is a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)?

A Deposit Return Scheme is a system where you pay a small deposit on top of the price of a drink. When finished, you return the drinks container to a collection point – like a supermarket or shop – and get the deposit back.

It’s a simple but effective system that reduces littering, puts value on what’s commonly seen as ‘worthless’, and encourages people to pick up drinks litter that they find.

All four UK nations have committed to implementing a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles and cans, but we need to keep up the pressure to make sure DRS becomes a reality.

Beach litter found at Crantock beach, Cornwall

Credit: Natasha Ewins
Credit: Triocean via Shutterstock
Credit: Canetti via Shutterstock

The problem with drinks litter

Every year an estimated 6.5 billion single-use bottles and cans go to waste rather than being recycled. Many of these end up on our beaches and seas, posing a threat to marine life and further polluting our ocean.

Since we started our beach clean surveys in 1994, drinks containers have been a constant presence. Our latest State of our Beaches report showed that drinks-related litter items were found on 96% of UK and Channel Island beach cleans.

Our latest State of our Beaches report showed:

Glass bottles were found on 49% of beach cleans
Metal drink cans were found on 61% of beach cleans
Plastic bottles and lids were found on 71% of beach cleans and on 91% of inland litter picks

Why the UK needs Deposit Return Schemes

DRS encourages people to return their empty drink containers, protecting marine wildlife from litter and making our beaches more pleasant places to be.

Reloop’s report, ‘Littered with evidence’, which uses data from the Ocean Conservancy that our Beachwatch data feeds into, found that, on average, the proportion of drinks containers littered was 54% lower in areas with a Deposit Return Scheme.

These schemes also mean drinks containers like cans and bottles can be recycled – reducing demand for new, raw materials. This lessens the strain on our planet’s resources and lowers carbon emissions.

Across the UK, consumers purchase an estimated 31 billion single-use drinks containers each year: 12 billion plastic drinks bottles, 14 billion drinks cans, and five billion glass bottles. Currently, 70-75% of these containers are collected for recycling, but many still end up littered or in landfill.

However, DRS will significantly reduce litter and expand opportunities to collect and reprocess high quality materials. They will play a key role in the UK Government, DAERA in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government achieving their aim of increasing recycling rates of single-use drinks containers to at least 90%.

Why deposit return schemes will work

Public support for Deposit Return Schemes

There continues to be huge public support for Deposit Return Schemes across the UK. Our bottles for Change campaign, launched in 2018, gathered more than 25,000 signatures in support of a DRS for all drinks containers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Our Youth Ocean Network created a video highlighting the importance of Deposit Return Schemes. This was shown by Reloop at its deposit return event at the 2024 Labour Party Conference.

With thanks to Youth Ocean Network members Eden, Ellena, Sophie and Zoe for helping to create this video and Reloop, who produced it.

Discover some of the organisations and community groups who are also excited for the Deposit Return Scheme to begin; helping to reduce litter in the environment, increase recycling rates and move us closer to a circular economy.

Check out our Deposit Return Scheme fan club

Progress in the UK so far

We’ve been campaigning for Deposit Return Schemes for nearly a decade, and we’ve seen great progress. We were a founding member of the ‘Have You Got the Bottle Campaign?’, led by Action to Protect Rural Scotland, which led to Scotland becoming the first UK nation to commit to introducing a Deposit Return Scheme.

In April 2024 all four nations committed to introducing Deposit Return Schemes by October 2027 for metal and plastic drinks containers.

There have already been major delays to the schemes’ introduction – and we need to keep up the pressure to make sure DRS becomes a reality in all four nations by the deadline in 2027.