Welsh and UK Government row over planned deposit return scheme

Credit: It is hoped the new way of recycling bottles and cans will mean less littering as well as less waste going to landfill.

The UK Government’s plans for deposit return schemes have been criticised as a “misuse” of power for trying to undermine Welsh Government proposals for its own scheme.

It mirrors a similar row with the Scottish Government which later backed down and centres on whether or not glass should be included in the schemes.

In a written statement, the UK Environment minister said that his government intends to use post-Brexit powers effectively to limit the amount of glass being included in a Welsh Government DRS.

But the Welsh Government says it will push ahead with its plans and has condemned the UK Government for attempting to “impose its policy on devolved governments.”

The latest clash between the two governments comes as the UK Government announced details of its plans to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers.

It will in effect be several schemes because many of the powers involved are devolved to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Drinks containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel, glass, and aluminium are all included in the plans in Wales

While the governments agree on most aspects of the schemes, there has been a standoff when it comes to including glass containers.

The UK Environment Minister Robin Moore said that “It remains my view that including glass in any UK DRS will create undue complexity for the drinks industry and it increases storage and handling costs for retailers.”

Following a previous argument, the Scottish Government has agreed to exclude glass from its scheme in order to make sure its overall plans can go forward.

However, the Welsh Government has said it will include glass along with plastic, aluminium and steel.

In a written statement, Wales’ Climate Change and Rural Affairs Secretary, Huw Irranca-Davies, said that he was pleased that schemes in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland would be broadly similar and be introduced at the same time in October 2027.

He wrote that “The Welsh Government has been consistent throughout, and our position has not changed – and remains consistent with the position we consulted on jointly with the UK Government, to which an overwhelming number of respondents (86%) supported the inclusion of glass.”

It is estimated the UK goes through 23 billion plastic drinks bottles and drinks cans a year, many of which are littered or go to landfill.

The statement added that “Whilst our preference remains the aligned scheme previously agreed, I note the threat the UK Government have made to repeat their actions in Scotland by using the Internal Market Act to restrict our ability to go further and impose a watered-down DRS on Wales.”

And it went on to criticise that threat, saying that “The misuse of the Internal Market Act as a means to restrict devolution is not about the market – as evidenced by the UK Government’s refusal to re-examine its decision to diverge from what was the common position.”

In his statement, the UK Environment Minister wrote that “As it stands, when our DRS launches, businesses and consumers will be protected by the market access principles of the UKIM Act for the sale of drinks in glass bottles across the UK. In plain terms, this means that drinks in glass containers made or imported into England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be subject to a Welsh DRS which includes glass.”

The use of those UKIM powers will have the effect of limiting the Welsh Government’s plan. No bottles or other containers made outside Wales will be part of the Welsh Deposit Return Scheme.

In an interview with me, Huw Irranca-Davies denied that by digging its heels in, the Welsh Government risks making Wales an outlier when the schemes are introduced.

He said that “It's not Wales that’s the outlier. Only a couple of years ago, we had signed off across the four nations on a scheme that would include glass, it would be the all in schemes.

“The outlier at this moment in time is England; Scotland want to proceed with glass as do we because we're on a different part of the journey. And I suspect colleagues in Northern Ireland are interested in doing this approach as well.

“It's England that’s the outlier notice no matter what I suspect, UK ministers might want to describe as Wales being the outlier.

“It's England has decided to change its approach and walk backwards from glass for the time being.”

The Welsh Government has also been criticised by the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers.

The BRC’s Andrew Opie said that

“We are disappointed by the decision by Welsh Government to keep glass in the scheme, adding significant costs and putting it at odds with the systems in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"It is vital that the DRS scheme is aligned as far as possible across the UK to keep business costs down and maximise the benefit for consumers, while allowing clear messaging across the whole of the UK about how the scheme will function.”

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