Deposit return schemes
An overview of schemes which provide a financial incentive for consumers to return drinks containers for recycling.
Every year Northern Ireland consumers go through an estimated 420 million plastic drinks bottles and 90 million drinks cans, many of which are littered or condemned to landfill. Evidence has shown that a deposit return scheme can become a simple part of daily life to make recycling easier, and reduce those burdens on the environment.
Through a small refundable deposit placed on single-use drinks containers, deposit return schemes incentivise people to recycle their drinks bottles and cans to redeem their deposits.
This guide explains how deposit return schemes work, the development of a deposit return scheme in Northern Ireland, and the parallel scheme in the Republic of Ireland which may have implications if you export drinks to the ROI market.
What are deposit return schemes?
How deposit return schemes typically work along the full supply chain from producers to retailers to consumers.
A deposit return scheme is one example of producer responsibility. Producer responsibility is about making sure businesses that manufacture, import and sell certain products are responsible for their end-of-life environmental impact.
A deposit return scheme for Northern Ireland (with England and Scotland) is due to be introduced in October 2027. You can . You can find out more about scheme currently being operated in the Republic of Ireland.
How do deposit return schemes work?
A deposit return scheme is where a consumer pays an up-front deposit on an item (the deposit item) at the point of purchase, which is redeemed on return of the deposit item to a designated return point.
Obligations for producers include:
- registering with a deposit management organisation (DMO)
- paying a producer registration fee which covers the scheme administration costs
- placing a deposit value on top of the price of the drinks and paying this to the DMO
- labelling in-scope drinks containers with details of the scheme
Obligations for retailers include:
- adding the deposit price to the purchase price at the point of sale
- accepting all deposit return containers at their store
- refunding consumers when an in-scope item is returned
The deposit fee is passed through the supply chain (consumer, retailer, distributor, producer) and is cost-neutral to all involved.
What are the aims of deposit return schemes?
The primary objectives of a deposit return scheme are to:
- increase recycling rates of in-scope containers
- increase the quality of recycled material to encourage closed-loop recycling and circularity to ensure materials remain in use for as long as possible
- reduce littering of in-scope containers
Evidence has shown that a deposit return scheme can become a simple part of daily life to make recycling easier - recycling rates in countries such as Germany, Finland, and Norway, which employ such a scheme, are above 90 per cent.
Current recycling rates for drinks containers in the United Kingdom have levelled off at around 70 per cent. An effective scheme could reduce littering of these drinks containers by around 85 per cent, and reduce plastic pollution.
Northern Ireland Deposit Return Scheme
The latest details of a new deposit return scheme which is set to be introduced in Northern Ireland from 2025.
Consumers in Northern Ireland, England and Wales will be able to recycle their plastic and canned drink containers more easily through a new Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) set to be introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in 2025.
Through a small refundable deposit placed on single-use drinks containers, the DRS will incentivise people to recycle their drinks bottles and cans to redeem their deposits. DAERA will work with its counterparts in England and Wales and with industry to press ahead with delivery of the scheme.
The next phase will be to work through development of the legislation, taking necessary steps to ensure it will work in practice, and appointment of the deposit management organisation (DMO). The DMO will be an independent, industry-led organisation established to run the DRS.
Republic of Ireland Deposit Return Scheme
Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme aims to transform how empty drinks bottles and cans are viewed and dealt with.
The Republic of Ireland's (ROI) Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) launched on 1 February 2024. Producers and manufacturers of drinks or those who sell them online have a role to play in the new scheme.
Under Irish DRS legislation, a producer is defined as any person, irrespective of the selling technique used, who is first to place in-scope products on the market in ROI.
The DRS process begins with the producer. For every in-scope drink the producer places on the market, they will pay an additional deposit fee.
This is recouped when the retailer buys in-scope drinks as they will pay the producer the product price plus the deposit fee, ensuring the deposit fee is cost-neutral for all involved.
All in-scope drinks containers will feature the scheme logo, ensuring that the container can be clearly identified by both consumers and retailers accepting empty containers over the counter.
What do Northern Ireland businesses need to do?
Northern Ireland producers who manufacture products for the ROI market should find out if and how you need to interact with the scheme.
You can find more information on the scheme, including registration requirements, technical and labelling specifications, producer fees, and various methods of contact on .