ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed amendments to permitted development legislation that will allow reverse vending machines (RVMs) to be installed without requiring full planning permission.  

The amendments cover installations of RVMs within the curtilage of a shop (covering the inside and immediate outside vicinity of the business), as well as any required canopies or enclosures. 

The amendments are set come into force on 9 April 2026, subject to successfully making it through the parliamentary process. The Deposit Return Scheme itself is set to come into force in October 2027.

ACS chief executive Ed Woodall said: "These amendments demonstrate a welcome, common-sense approach to the introduction of the deposit return scheme which will save retailers significant time in not having to seek planning permission to install an RVM. However, there are still a significant number of unanswered questions about DRS which retailers need clarity on as soon as possible. 

"The fundamental question for retailers when looking at their options on DRS is to understand whether the scheme is going to be cost neutral, and we can only estimate this accurately when we have confirmation of the retail handling fee. We also need clarification on the frequency of collections and more detail on the IT infrastructure that is being built for the scheme, as it is the robustness of the logistics of the scheme that will ultimately determine its success or failure."

Last week, ACS launched a detailed DRS guide for retailers based on all of the information that we have so far about the scheme. The guide details the operation of the scheme and the things that retailers need to consider when deciding whether to operate a manual return point, install an RVM, or seek an exemption from collections. All retailers will be required to charge a deposit on eligible containers. 

The ACS DRS guide is available to download here.