Alupro urges government action to establish an aluminium-friendly DRS

On April 11, the 29 members of Alupro wrote a letter to Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, urging her to take immediate action to ensure that a deposit return scheme (DRS) in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland further increases aluminium recycling rates without jeopardising the market.

Alupro and its members, who speak for the aluminium packaging industry, seek a DRS that is fair and equitable and doesn't undermine the already effective recycling system for aluminium beverage containers.

"From an aluminium perspective, whilst we welcome the publication of the government's response, we were disappointed by several elements of it – particularly the decision to exclude glass bottles despite widespread support for a scheme including them evident from the government's own analysis of consultation responses. A DRS is already a challenging initiative to implement effectively without compromising market growth and dynamics, and this decision in particular accentuates the situation. Additionally we urge the government to publish their impact assessment urgently to allow proper scrutiny of the decisions taken to date," said Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro.

A deposit will be added to purchasing a beverage product at the store as part of the DRS's implementation beginning in October 2025. The deposit will be reimbursed to the consumer when empty packaging is brought to a designated collection site.

As a result, Alupro has listed some crucial goals that must be carried out during the scheme's next growth stage to guarantee that it promotes the thriving recycling and packaging of aluminium.

• A variable deposit rate dependent on container volume is the first requirement for a successful DRS that maximises environmental benefit and minimises economic harm to a business. They eliminate the perverse incentive for customers to buy additional plastic bottles and are utilised in the most effective systems worldwide.
• The second requirement is that all competing materials must be treated equally. Although glass beverage containers have previously been decided to be excluded from the DRS, they should still be subject to similar collection and recycling objectives under the EPR system.
• Thirdly, DRS must encourage the growth of a circular economy by making it easier to recycle packaging. For example, material gathered through the programme should be recycled back into the packaging system when it comes to endlessly recyclable aluminium, as it is now.

Alupro is worried that Scotland's implementation of the DRS may hurt the aluminium market and encourage consumers to use more expensive, large-volume PET bottles. They hope the recommendations for the rest of the UK will avoid similar issues.

The association is specific that any new law needs to be well thought through to prevent harm to the market for the most circular packaging materials. Members insist that urgent action and cooperative thinking are required to guarantee that any DRS is fair, equitable, and prosperous, notwithstanding the government's recent answer to their recent consultation.

“Finally, encouraging widespread consumer participation will prove crucial to maximising recycling rates. From our experience over the past 30 years, we’ve seen that well-designed and engaging programmes like Every Can Counts have been essential to achieving high recycling rates. Programmes like this can ensure recycling ambitions are realised by educating consumers on the importance of recycling properly. Government should ask applicants for the scheme administrator role to clearly demonstrate their approach to promoting the scheme and working with providers like Alupro who can share their expertise,” added Tom Giddings.