July 14, 2026 - 103 views
The Welsh Conservatives have renewed their criticism of plans to include glass bottles in Wales' proposed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), arguing the move could increase costs for businesses and consumers despite the country's already high recycling rates.
During First Minister's Questions in the Senedd, Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar MS challenged First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth over the Welsh Government's decision to continue pursuing a scheme that includes glass, a policy that differs from the approach currently planned elsewhere in the UK.
A Deposit Return Scheme works by adding a small refundable deposit to eligible drink containers. Consumers receive the deposit back when they return the empty container to a designated collection point, with the aim of increasing recycling rates and reducing litter.
While England and Northern Ireland are planning to introduce a scheme covering plastic bottles and metal cans, Wales has continued to argue that glass should also be included. Scotland had originally proposed including glass before delaying its own scheme and later aligning more closely with the wider UK approach.
Speaking in the Senedd, Darren Millar said Wales already performs strongly on recycling and questioned whether the additional costs of including glass could be justified.
"Wales recycles more household waste than almost anywhere else in the world and our glass recycling rate is among the highest in Europe," he said.
He argued that requiring drinks producers to participate in a glass deposit scheme would increase costs that would ultimately be passed on to consumers.
Mr Millar also expressed concern about the impact on smaller Welsh producers, including breweries and food and drink manufacturers, saying large multinational companies were better placed to absorb additional costs.
He added that many households already recycle glass through kerbside collections and questioned whether requiring people to return bottles to shops would provide significant environmental benefits.
Successive Welsh Governments have maintained that including glass would create a more comprehensive recycling system and help reduce litter while improving the quality of recycled materials.
Ministers have argued that although Wales already has one of the highest household recycling rates in the world, a deposit scheme is designed to capture containers consumed away from home as well as those that are not currently recycled through household collections.
Environmental organisations, including groups such as Keep Wales Tidy and CPRE, have previously supported the inclusion of glass in deposit return systems, arguing it could help reduce littering, increase the capture of high-quality recyclable material and encourage a more circular economy. However, some industry bodies have questioned whether the environmental gains would outweigh the costs in areas that already achieve high recycling rates.
The Welsh Government has also argued that aligning a deposit scheme with its wider circular economy strategy would help reduce waste, cut carbon emissions associated with producing new glass and improve the reuse of valuable materials.
The proposals have prompted mixed reactions from the food and drink industry.
Some drinks manufacturers and retailers have warned that including glass would require significant investment in new collection systems, storage facilities and reverse vending machines, creating additional costs—particularly for smaller businesses with limited space and resources.
On the other hand, environmental campaigners have argued that well-designed deposit return schemes in countries such as Germany and the Nordic nations have achieved very high return rates for beverage containers and helped reduce litter.
The precise timetable for Wales' Deposit Return Scheme remains subject to ongoing discussions between the Welsh Government, the UK Government and industry stakeholders.
One of the key issues continues to be whether Wales should maintain a scheme that includes glass or adopt a model that mirrors the rest of the UK.
The debate reflects a wider challenge facing policymakers: balancing environmental ambitions with the practical and financial impact on businesses and consumers, particularly as governments seek to increase recycling rates while supporting economic growth.
