Operator named for Welsh deposit return scheme after second search

The Welsh Government has appointed Exchange for Change to run the deposit return scheme in Wales, four months after rejecting an application from the same organisation.

From October 2027, shoppers in Wales will pay a deposit on drinks containers and get the money back when they return the empty container to a collection point.

Exchange for Change already runs the equivalent scheme in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It applied to run the Welsh scheme earlier this year and was turned down.

In April the organisation confirmed that its application had “not been approved at this time”, according to trade publication letsrecycle.com.</p>

The decision came as the Senedd was dissolved ahead of the May election, and the Welsh Government said pre-election restrictions prevented it commenting on the decision.

The Welsh Government then reopened the search, with a second application window closing on 2 June.

The Association of Convenience Stores said in April it was concerned at the lack of progress, warning that installing return points in hundreds of shops takes time.

Llŷr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, said: ”I look forward to working with Exchange for Change and our delivery partners as we work to establish a DRS that works for Wales, and with those schemes being implemented in the other nations of the UK.”

Wales is the only part of the UK to include glass bottles in its scheme. Glass will carry a deposit of zero pence for the first four years, and drinks companies will not have to change their labels during that period.

That means shoppers buying a glass bottle will pay no deposit on it until the transition ends, while cans and plastic bottles carry one from the scheme’s first day.

The same is true across the border, where glass is left out of the English scheme entirely.

Most shops in Wales will be expected to take back empty containers, either over the counter or through a reverse vending machine, unless they qualify for an exemption.

Planning rules changed in April to allow those machines to be installed at shops without full planning permission.

Gruffydd issued the announcement as a written statement because the Senedd is in recess.

He said an oral statement would be timetabled early in the autumn term.