ADVISORY
REALITY SET TO BITE!
Are you ready for the environmental challenges coming your way? Former PAPA chairman, Richard Harrow, offers some cautionary insight on packaging and DRS expectations.
Richard Harrow has over 40 years’ experience in both the private label and frozen food markets in senior roles. This has helped him gain wide experience across marketing, sales, NPD, sustainability, EPR, DRS and supply chain management.
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WIDE SCALE An already battered retail and hospitality sector is facing even more environmental scrutiny over the next few years, as new legislation covering packaging waste is implemented. In addition to pending costs from packaging taxes, small retailers, restaurants, takeaways and delivery businesses are likely to face an administrative nightmare when the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) comes into play. While operators with turnover below £1 million and using fewer than 25 tonnes of packaging may have sighed with relief at exemption from paying taxers under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, they are nevertheless likely to feel the pinch as suppliers seek to offset costs. For larger operators, the impact is substantial. DRS just adds salt to the wounds by requiring food & drink businesses to carry the costs and administrative challenges of the scheme. CASH OR VOUCHER? What we know to date is that England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are scheduled to introduce a DRS in October 2027. Wales has indicated it will follow the same timeline, although we still
await more details on this scheme, unless of course Westminster blocks it! In the three devolved nations, the focus is the collection of plastic bottles (but not milk bottles) and cans ranging in size from 150ml to three litres. Consumers will be encouraged to return drinks containers which have had a deposit added to the price, which will then be given back either as a voucher or cash. Wales is planning to also add glass to the DRS, although there are indications the system will be very similar to the one being introduced in the other devolved nations. The principle of the scheme is simple. The deposit, expected to be 20p, is added to the cost of a product by the original producer, which is passed down the line via wholesalers and retailers to the consumer. This can then be redeemed in cash or a voucher by returning the container to any seller of drinks after use – they don’t need to have purchased them from that outlet. DRS already applies in some 50 countries, with Ireland launching in 2024 – 1.2 billion containers were returned in the first year alone. This has resulted in a 50% reduction in litter in public spaces, as consumers seek to get deposits back. A recent trial run in New College Lanarkshire saw 20,000 cans and bottles www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk 17/12/2025 15:52