Details have been revealed of how a new deposit return scheme will work in Somerset to recycle containers such as plastic bottles and drinks cans.

Deposit return schemes involve paying a small deposit for disposable containers which is then repaid to the customer when the container is returned to a shop or collection point.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published long-awaited details of how such a scheme will work in England – with Scotland rolling out its own scheme in late-2023.

The scheme in England will begin operating in October 2025 – and the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) has outlined details of how it will work, including its impact on the weekly recycling collections.

Details of the DRS were published ahead of the final meeting of the Somerset Waste Board joint scrutiny panel on Wednesday afternoon (February 8).

The DRS will be run by a not-for-profit deposit management organisation (DMO) which will be created by the government in the summer of 2024, ahead of the DRS beginning on October 1, 2025.

The DMO will be funded by selling on the recycled materials, as well as retaining any deposits which go unclaimed after a period of time.

The DRS will cover plastic containers, along with steel and aluminium cans up to three litres in value (including multipacks).

Glass will not be eligible in England or Northern Ireland (though it will be accepted in Scotland and Wales), and drinks consumed in pubs, cafés and restaurants will also be exempt.

SWP managing director Mickey Green: “We are not taking glass, as Defra feels this will add increased handling costs and equipment complexity. There are also concerns that what they collect will be worse quality than how we collect it at the kerbside

“These are materials that go in the bright blue bag in Somerset and are not sorted at the kerbside.”

While the deposit in the Scotland DRS has been set at 20p per item, no deposit level has been set for England – though a maximum level will be set by the DMO before the DRS begins.

Mr Green added: “The government expects to increase capture of in-scope packaging from 70 per cent to 90 per cent within three years of the scheme’s launch.

“The government expects littering of in-scope packaging to decrease by 85 per cent after the scheme launches, with penalties [being levied] on the DMO if they don’t reach this level.

“All retailers will be obliged to host a DRS return point, subject to exemptions made through the DMO – for instance, if there’s one nearby or if it’s unsafe.

“The DMO may also want to see return points outside retail areas (for instance, in high footfall places such as transport interchanges).”

Once the DRS has been launched, the local authority will still be able to collect unclaimed eligible packaging at the kerbside, provided it can be separated and recycled.

Further details of the DRS will be released later in the year when legislation to create the DMO comes before the House of Commons.