The Fed outlines growing concern over DRS delays in Wales

The president of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) in Wales has written to senior figures in the new Welsh Government expressing concern about the lack of progress moving forward with the deposit return scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans.

Cardiff retailer Mark Dudden – who represents hundreds of small shops across Wales through the Fed – says Wales is failing to keep pace with the rest of the UK on the vital initiative to boost recycling and help reduce litter.

In his letter to the new Cabinet Minister for Sustainability, Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd MS, Mr Dudden said independent retailers were keen to understand the roadmap of how this will be taken forward.

“This is vital because Welsh retailers and other stakeholders require certainty so they can plan ahead for the adoption of DRS, which is due in 15 months.”

Mr Dudden’s letter followed similar correspondence to the then Labour government in Cardiff in March – which the Fed did in conjunction with the British Soft Drinks Association, the British Retail Consortium, UK Hospitality, the Food and Drink Federation Cymru and other leading trade representatives – and follows an earlier letter the Fed wrote in June, immediately after the election, and yet another separate letter from the glass industry – spearheaded by the BSDA – this week.

Mr Dudden wrote that it was “essential for Welsh retailers that any DRS infrastructure has full interoperability with the rest of the UK so as to avoid fraudulent abuse of DRS.”

The BSDA statement this week had said that there could be an “annual fraud bill of up to £300m” if people exploit differences between the Welsh scheme and those elsewhere in the UK.

The Fed’s letter reiterated concerns that by including glass in the scheme, there will be challenges involving extra weight and injury from broken bottles.

Mr Dudden’s letter also pointed out the Fed’s work for its members in the Republic of Ireland, where DRS was introduced in February 2024 for plastic bottles and metal cans, but also without glass.

He concluded his letter – also copied to Rhun ap Iorwerth, First Minister of Wales – with an offer to meet as soon as possible with Welsh leaders and civil servants.