Exchange For Change, the organisation responsible for delivering the UK’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), has appointed five waste management and recycling providers to deliver logistics and processing services for the scheme, due to launch in October 2027.
The appointments follow a tender process and are expected to unlock millions of pounds of investment in UK recycling infrastructure and create around 700 new jobs.
Suez will cover the North East, North West, West Midlands and South West regions of England, while Cirqlr will operate across the East Midlands and South East regions.
Re.Group, working with Hargreaves Services, will cover Scotland, Bywaters will operate in London and Re-Gen will cover Northern Ireland.
Collection and recycling
The companies will collect drinks containers returned through the DRS and process the materials so they can be recycled into new drinks containers.
Infrastructure due to be operational when the scheme launches includes three dedicated DRS processing facilities in Scotland, Scunthorpe and Guildford, along with dedicated DRS processing lines in the Isle of Dogs and Newry. A shared-use plastics recycling facility in Avonmouth, near Bristol, will also be used.
A further three purpose-built processing facilities are planned for Ely in Cambridgeshire, Knowsley in Merseyside and Avonmouth, with these expected to become operational from October 2030.
Around 400 new recycling vehicles are also expected to be mobilised to collect DRS materials from return points across the UK.
Under the scheme, a 20p (26 cents) deposit will be applied to single-use PET plastics, aluminium and steel drinks containers between 150ml and 3 litres from October 2027. Consumers will be able to reclaim the deposit when they return containers to a collection point.
‘Scalable collections network’
Russell Davies, chief executive of Exchange For Change, said the appointments marked a significant milestone in preparations for the scheme.
“Together, the five waste management companies will create a resilient and scalable collections network that will ensure efficient collection and processing of DRS materials,” he said.
Exchange For Change estimates that more than 6.5 billion cans and bottles end up as waste rather than being recycled in the UK each year. It said the average return rate in European countries operating a DRS is 90 per cent.
John Scanlon, Suez executive vice-president in the UK, said the company would provide services across four of the scheme’s 10 regions.
‘Groundbreaking service’
“I’m delighted Exchange For Change has entrusted Suez to deliver this groundbreaking service in four of its 10 regions,” he said.
Re.Group managing director David Singh said the company would draw on its experience of delivering DRS services in Australia in its work in Scotland.
“Having delivered DRS services at scale in Australia, we have seen first-hand the positive impact these schemes have on communities and the environment,” he added.
The infrastructure announcement comes as Exchange For Change begins registering businesses for the DRS, with the first phase of registration opening on 1 October. A second phase is expected to open in January 2027, ahead of the scheme’s planned launch in October 2027.
