Fed’s National President Backs Grant for DRS for Independent Retailers

Hetal Patel, National President of the Fed, has welcomed the announcement that there will be a £6,000 grant for independent retailers hosting a Return Vending Machine (RVM) as part of the Deposit Return Scheme for Recycling, when it is launched in the UK in October next year.

In recent months, the Fed has been welcoming the potential for DRS to reduce littering and boost recycling but has also called on the scheme to be revenue neutral for retailers who participate to ensure the scheme reaches its goals of a collection target of 90% by the third year of the scheme. Meanwhile, the Fed has been sharing information with members encouraging them to prepare in recent months.

Hetal Patel said: “This is a positive development but the Fed is working closely with our members and other trade bodies representing retail to ensure the voice of small shops is heard at this important stage of discussions on DRS. It is important that DRS is revenue neutral for retailers so as many small business participate as possible, maximising return rates for recycling.”

DRS has been in place in the Republic of Ireland since February 2024 and is a familiar feature for the hundreds of Fed members located there and a delegation from the Fed visited the Dublin area last year to help learn lessons about the scheme. The ROI scheme provides retailers a grant already as well as a 2.2 cent fee for bottles returned with a Reverse Vending Machine and 2.6 cents for those manually returned.

The Fed has backed a retail grant but is also calling on Exchange for Change who will operate the scheme to provide a generous Retail Handling Fee (RHF) when it is launched. There is an ongoing consultation on the fee – as well as details relating to exemptions for certain retailers – which the Fed will be contributing to.

Doug Oliver, the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator said: “The Fed has shared resources from Exchange for Change to members through our magazine, online and more but we encourage members to get in touch if they have questions about what they can do to prepare ahead of next year’s DRS launch”.