Retailers see UK deposit return scheme as chance to boost footfall
Exchange for Change has set out intended producer fees for the UK’s Deposit Return Scheme, stating that producers will pay no fee for the first 15 months from October 2027 to December 2028. From January 2029 the fee is projected at 0.6p per aluminium or steel container and 2.3p per PET container, with the rates set to be reviewed and reconfirmed in May 2027.
Powers says retailers can treat the scheme as a compliance cost or use reverse vending machines to draw customers who return containers for a voucher. He notes that children returning bottles for pocket money may spend the voucher on high‑margin items such as magazines or confectionery. At forecourts, a large reverse vending machine could generate a £100 voucher for a customer bringing many empties, which could then be spent on fuel or store goods. He also warns that long queues or unemptied machines will drive shoppers away, making machine reliability a competitive factor. Using a hypothetical one million containers each with a 20p deposit, Powers calculates that a retailer could see £800,000 of working capital moving through the business before the handling fee is applied. He advises retailers to first check their exemption status, decide whether to operate a return point, choose between manual systems or RVMs, look for grants, and consider the impact on cash flow.
“You can use this to attract footfall,” Bill Powers, chairman of DRS International said.
“If I turn up at a store and there’s a queue for the machine, consumers hate that,” Bill Powers, chairman of DRS International said.
The scheme is set to launch in October 2027.
What we know
Exchange for Change has set out its intended producer fees for the UK’s Deposit Return Scheme, giving drinks businesses more detail as they prepare for its October 2027 launch.
Producers will pay no fee for the first 15 months, from October 2027 to December 2028, with current projections putting the fee at 0.6p per aluminium and steel container and 2.3p per PET container from January 2029.
The figures will be reviewed and reconfirmed in May 2027, with annual reviews after launch.
He points to a recent example of a retail forecourt in Munster, Ireland, where an RVM installed in February was “nearly paid for by the December”.