Welsh bottle returns to start in 2027 - without glass refunds

Wales' bottle and can return scheme will launch at the same time as the rest of the UK's on 1 October 2027 after a rethink in Cardiff - but without glass being fully part of it at the start.

The Welsh government had planned to go it alone and stay out of a UK scheme after it failed to convince the UK government to include glass, but ministers appear to have backed down.

It means consumers will be able to be refunded for returning drinks containers from the same date as in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if they are plastic or metal.

But while glass will be collected at the start, customers will not be refunded for the bottles they hand over.

Plaid Cymru's Llyr Gruffydd accused the Welsh government of a U-turn and said an initial statement released last week had been "rather confusing".

Deposit return schemes (DRS) try to promote the recycling and reuse of bottles and cans by offering money or vouchers for their return.

Under the scheme a deposit will be added to the cost of a drink, which can be refunded when it is returned.

BBC Wales was told that whilst glass will be collected as part of the scheme, the refundable deposit will not be applied.

The Welsh government says this will allow for a "grace period" until the deposit comes into force.

No date has been given for when that grace period will end. Officials say it will allow "time for industry to adapt labelling, production, and distribution systems".

In a statement Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said he had listened to "industry concerns" and would align with the UK's plans.

The Welsh government decided not to join a UK-wide DRS scheme last year after it tried and failed to get the then-new UK Labour government to agree to glass being part of the scheme.

The UK government has stuck to a decision by the previous Conservative administration, which had opposed glass' inclusion due to difficulties it said would be caused to the drinks industry.

As a result, it was not clear when Wales' new scheme would actually start - with the Welsh government having said it would be later than 2027.

In a written statement to the Senedd last week, Irranca-Davies said: "We have heard clearly from industry that the scenario where a scheme is introduced in the other parts of the UK, with no scheme in place in Wales, carries the greatest risk of operational complexity and associated costs.

"I have therefore set out to industry that we are willing to accelerate our implementation timetable to align with the rest of the UK, which would provide for interoperability between common materials."

He added: "Glass remains in scope of our scheme, as this means that in Wales, we will be able to begin to roll-out reuse as a core part of the scheme."

Asked for more detail by the BBC, the Welsh government said the Wales DRS will be in place by 1 October 2027.

For reusable drinks containers, understood to be plastics and cans, the government added: "these will be phased Wales wide following a large-scale reuse trial which will build on the DRS trials that we have already undertaken in Wales".

"For single-use glass: glass will be collected from day one of the scheme in Wales, but without deposit being applied initially."

The statement from the Welsh government attracted a negative response from major industry associations.

The British Retail Consortium, British Soft Drinks Association, British Beer and Pub Association and Natural Source Water Association welcomed the intention to align with the rest of the UK on bottles and cans.

But they said they were "disappointed" the Welsh government was "still committed to forging its own path by including single-use glass drinks bottles from October 2027, a move which will significantly increase the cost and complexity of developing such a scheme while failing to deliver the environmental benefits a well-run DRS should deliver".

Plaid Cymru MS Llyr Gruffydd, the chair of the Senedd climate change committee, told a press conference on Tuesday that the original statement from the deputy first minister "was rather confusing".

Mr Gruffydd said: "It sounded as if they were admitting that they were announcing a U-turn but that they were trying to make it sound as if they weren't.

"It's only a month or two ago that the deputy first minister made a resounding statement that we are doing what we think is right, and we will include bottles from the start. So I don't think that they can seriously tell us it's not a U-turn.

"I recognise that the government wants to go further and faster than the other nations of the UK, but I also recognise that having a UK wide process here would probably be helpful.

"So it is a question as to, how do you manage to do both? What the statement didn't do was be clear about how they intended to do that. It sounded as if they were trying to ride two horses, which you probably can't do in this game."