The Welsh Government will move ahead with a Deposit Return Scheme
that delivers for Wales, Deputy First Minister has confirmed today.
In a written statement, the Deputy First Minister with
responsibility for Climate Change announced the decision.
He explained that issues are caused by the United Kingdom
Internal Market Act 2020, ‘inherited by the UK Government' from
the previous administration.
Deputy First Minister said: “Wales already ranked second in the
world for recycling, it places us in a unique position of
implementing a scheme into an already high recycling nation.
“That means that to develop a DRS that will deliver benefit to
Wales necessitates an approach which looks Beyond Recycling; one
that will support Wales to build on our progress to date and take
the next step by supporting the transition to reuse.
“Recognising the effort that everyone across Wales has put into
our progress on recycling, it also means that it is vital that
the introduction of a DRS will build upon and not detract from
the progress everyone has worked so hard to deliver.”
The written statement goes on to explain the rationale behind
today's decision.
“In partnership with the UK and Devolved Governments, we have
been working to initiate a joint process to appoint the Deposit
Management Organisation for our respective schemes later this
month,” the Deputy First Minister said.
“However, in the time available it has not been possible to
address the issues to the operation of devolution caused by the
United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, inherited by the UK
Government from the previous administration.
“This unfortunately means that we are not able to proceed with
the joint process or notify the WTO in relation to the scheme at
this point.”
The Deputy First Minister reiterated the Welsh Government's
commitment to ‘delivering a Deposit Return Scheme for Wales,
supporting the country's transition to a circular economy.
“Our active engagement with industry has highlighted that there
are currently a range of views on how best to achieve the
transition to reuse,” he said.
“We will therefore continue our active engagement to develop a
scheme that supports the transition to reuse for all drinks
containers including those made from glass.
“In doing so we will also continue to draw from international
best practice.
“In parallel with the development of the Welsh DRS, we will also
continue our work to improve our recycling, having once again
seen an increase in our latest recycling rates this year.”
