What makes a deposit return scheme successful?

A large proportion of our waste is comprised of single-use drinks containers and far too many of them end up littering our high streets, beaches and countryside. Plastic drinks containers ultimately break up into tiny pieces (microplastics) which go on to cause harm in the natural environment. (Glass containers cause different problems when they break and litter the streets with bits of glass that can cut animal’s feet and cause infections).

To reduce the problem of this unsightly and damaging litter, the UK is to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) [1], starting in October 2027. This means you will pay slightly more for your drink but get some back when you return the container to a collection point.

If the scheme is successful this will increase the recycling rate for plastic and other bottles, reducing the need for more virgin material and the GHG emissions from the fossil fuel plastic is made from. You will still be able to leave your plastics for collection by your local waste collection services as now but you will not get the deposit back that way. The DRS route is better for recycling because the bottles will be sorted rather than mixed in with other rubbish as now. The scheme will be managed by a not-for-profit Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) .

There are already successful schemes in Germany [2] and Sweden that we can learn from. These schemes achieved returns rate of 98% [2] and 87.6% [3] respectively in 2024.

The key factors for high collection rate are:

• Significant deposit value to incentivise consumers
• In Germany, the deposits for multi-use containers range from 0.08 - 0.25 euro (7p-22p). For single-use containers the deposit is 0.25 euro (set by the government) [2]
• In some places the deposit varies with the size of the container. For example in Sweden you get 1 or 2 SEK (8p or 16p) for aluminium cans depending on the size, or 2-3 SEK (16p – 25p) for PET bottles [3]
•  Many nearby collection points
•  Reducing the effort required to take containers back
• To increase the density of collection points, retailers may be obliged to take collections, or take part in a shared collection service such as Re-turn
• In California there is no obligation on retailers to take back containers and the recycling rate is much lower – only 60%
• Most Items included in the scheme
• Typically glass and aluminium containers are included and often recyclable plastic such as PET. 
• PET plastic is usually shredded and reformed into pellets to make new bottles
•  The UK scheme will not include glass because of safety issues with broken glass. However glass is included in the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme [1].
• To reduce costs for the retailer
• Shared services
• Revino supports wine producers in Oregon in re-using wine bottles. They provide sorting and washing services
• Collections can be automated, for example by reversed vending machines [4]

In summary: deposit return schemes can be very successful in raising recycling rates for containers and hence reducing GHG emissions. However they can be onerous to use for both consumers and retailers. To achieve high levels of participation it needs to be convenient for consumers to take the containers to collection points and/or fines for con-compliance by the retailer. Shared services and/or automation can reduce costs.

[1] Introducing the deposit return scheme for drinks containers Jan 2025 (blog.gov, Jan 2025) 

 

[2] A look at Germany’s bottle deposit scheme (dw.com, Nov 2021) 

[3] New data says Swedish DRS recycled 2.8 billion beverage containers in 2024 (Packaging Europe) March 2025

[4] Reverse vending machines: The benefits of automation for retailers in deposit return schemes