Governed by a board made up of voices from across the UK’s drinks and retail sectors, UK DMO is a not-for-profit organisation created to deliver the schemes. Board members include senior figures from the likes of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Heineken UK, Tesco and Co-op.

UK DMO will be responsible for designing and operating the systems that make the DRS work – from producer registration to logistics, finance, fraud prevention and public communications.

In a joint statement, the UK DMO Board said: “DRS is an opportunity to deliver a transformational step forward in the circular economy in the UK and the appointment of the DMO is a major milestone in that journey.

‘Work already underway’

“We don’t underestimate the scale of the challenge, but our aim is simple – to build a system that’s fair, efficient and easy to use. Our work is already underway, and we’ll be working closely with governments, businesses of all sizes, environmental groups and consumer bodies to move forward as quickly as possible.”

The UK Government officially confirmed that a DRS would be introduced in England and Northern Ireland from October 2027. From that date, consumers will need to pay a small deposit on drinks containers made from PET plastic, steel and aluminium between 150ml and 3 litres which they will get back in full when they return the empty container for recycling.

UK DMO will now begin engaging with partners including the three governments, businesses, and consumer and environmental groups on the shape of the scheme. Producers, retailers and other interested parties are encouraged to visit the UK DMO website and register their interest.

British Soft Drinks Association director general Gavin Partington welcomed the appointment of UK DMO as administrator of the DRS.

Circular economy

“This appointment marks a key milestone in realising the opportunities of a more circular economy, driving £1.13bn of industry investment over the next three years and creating more than 4,000 jobs across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland,” Partington added.

“The British soft drinks industry looks forward to playing our part in ensuring successful delivery of a DRS by October 2027.”

Andrew Opie, British Retail Consortium director of food and sustainability, said a well-designed DRS with retail at its heart would be an important contribution to delivering a circular economy in the UK.

“Retailers and the BRC have been central to the DMO’s development, committing significant funding, time and resource to get to this point and we are pleased that our voice will continue to be heard as the initiative progresses,” Opie continued.

“The DMO must now get to work to ensure the smooth delivery of a DRS that works for businesses and consumers. We look forward to engaging with them and the government to ensure that DRS makes a meaningful difference to recycling across the UK.”