The Association of Convenience Stores has welcomed an announcement from Deposit Return Scheme administrator Exchange for Change, confirming that 20p will be the deposit amount for all eligible containers.

The Deposit Return Scheme is scheduled to come into force in October 2027 across the UK, with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland being managed by Exchange for Change. In these nations, the scheme will include single use drinks containers made of plastic and metal between 150ml and 3l in size.

In Wales, the current administration has signalled its intent to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme that includes plastic, metal and glass, but with glass not carrying a deposit until 2031. Wales has to date failed to appoint an administrator and as such the deposit amount and other details about the scheme are yet to be confirmed.

ACS chief executive Ed Woodall said: “We welcome the announcement of the 20p deposit rate for the scheme as a signal that progress is being made at pace on the details of the scheme operation for retailers. There are however still crucial parts of the scheme that we do not have clarity on yet, the most important of which is the rate of the retail handling fee, which will play the biggest role in retailers making a decision about how to be involved with the scheme.

“We remain committed to working with Exchange for Change to explain the details of the scheme to retailers, and to ensure that the scheme can be implemented in a targeted, sustainable way that causes minimal operational and cost burdens for the convenience sector.”

In March this year, ACS published a comprehensive guide to the Deposit Return Scheme to support retailers in their decision making process. The guide is available here

More information about scheme administrator Exchange for Change is available here.