The Complementary tools to deal with waste
- Georgie Archer
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) are designed to incentivise recycling and reduce litter by assigning monetary value to drinks containers. Hailing from an era when soft drinks, milk and beer companies collected, washed and refilled glass bottles, DRS are now tackling modern waste issues. However, DRS alone doesn't address the key issues: overproduction of single-use plastics.
Whilst DRS is often discussed separately, it is in fact a form of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). EPR policies assign producers legal and financial responsibility for the environmental impacts of products and packaging - a definition that applies directly to DRS, which obliges producers to finance the collection and processing of beverage containers. On a larger scale, EPR includes meeting recycling targets and investing in waste reduction.
In many contexts, however, “EPR” refers more specifically to kerbside or separate collection systems for a broader range of packaging. These EPR schemes have often fallen short of driving large-scale change in waste reduction and reuse.
EPR obligations can be fulfilled individually or through Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs). These systems can go beyond recycling, promoting elimination of unnecessary packaging and shifting to reusable/refillable formats. When paired with a DRS that supports reuse, EPR has great potential to reduce single-use plastic production and pollution.
To build a circular economy, both DRS and EPR are essential, with an emphasis on reuse and reduction. This requires not only behavioural change but infrastructure development, supply chain redesign and rethinking packaging as a service, not a product.
Which should come first?
Experience has shown that implementing DRS before broader kerbside EPR systems is more effective. DRS helps build infrastructure and consumer habits that EPR can then reinforce and expand upon. DRS systems often involve return-to-store collection, while EPR focuses on improving at-home recycling of a wider range of materials.
Together, they form the foundations of a reuse economy:
DRS helps establish reuse/refill systems, reduce litter and improve recycling.
EPR builds on DRS, funding and regulating reuse and enhancing recycling networks.
Both policies must embed reuse into their design to drive long-term impact.
In combination, DRS and EPR can move us beyond recycling, towards a circular system grounded in reduction and reuse.
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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk
To take this further, you may want to join the Marine Conservation Society's DRS Fan Club!
Image: Circular recycling plastic bottles - Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images (ST ref: 1322)
