The Fed welcomes announcement of DMO in Wales but continues to seek clarity on glass

The Fed has welcomed the announcement from the Welsh Government that it would appoint Exchange For Change as the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) that would administer the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans in Wales. The announcement follows close engagement from the Fed and other representatives of industry over recent months which threatened to see Wales’ DRS roll-out losing alignment with the rest of the UK once the scheme goes live in October 2027.

Commenting the Fed’s Welsh President, Mark Dudden said: “This is positive news and follows concerted lobbying efforts from the Fed in Wales over the last six months, as well as other trade bodies we have collaborated with from across retail and the soft drinks industry. However, we continue to seek clarity about the inclusion of glass whose return could still be included at certain locations. The delay in getting to this point is regrettable and we hope the Welsh DRS project can move forward as quickly as possible from this point.

“The Fed’s been clear in its support for DRS as we know small Welsh shops can provide a vital network to boost recycling and make Wales tidier. However, a requirement that all return points involve glass recycling was clearly going to be unfeasible. We continue to have concerns about the inclusion of glass from day one. However, we look forward to working closely with the Welsh Government and Exchange For Change in ensuring DRS is as much of a success as possible here in Wales.”

The announcement was made by Plaid Cymru’s Llŷr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability: “This marks the next step towards delivering a DRS for Wales, which will collect empty drinks containers to tackle litter, keep communities cleaner, further improve Wales’ recycling and support the transition from recycling to reuse.”  Exchange for Change has said there is an aim for 94% of Welsh residents to have access to one of 100 glass return point within a 15-minute drive of where they live. It was also said that the scheme for PET, aluminium and steel would be aligned with the rest of the UK.