Soft drink companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have written an open letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak urging him not to scrap the deposit return scheme.
As reported by the Grocer, the letter comes amid fears the deposit return scheme will be next in Sunak’s environmental policy U-turns.
There have already been many delays to the scheme, as it was set to begin October 2025 but could now be pushed back to 2026.
Retailers have called the scheme out for being too costly with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief warning it could cost retailers £1.8 billion a year.
However, the letter from the drinks industry urges the government to commit to a deposit return scheme “in light of unsupported reports of its costs.”
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“The UK government has committed to a target of reaching net zero by 2050, a target that is supported by 72% of the public. For this to be achieved, stagnant recycling rates will need to rise significantly, and a deposit return will provide infrastructure to do just that at no cost to the taxpayer,” the letter continued.
“If drinks manufacturers and retailers are to reach net zero, they will need to reduce the carbon footprint of their packaging – the most effective way of achieving this is through the introduction of a deposit return scheme.
“Many drinks manufacturers and retailers have made similar commitments and signed external pledges that are all conditional on deposit return being implemented and interoperable across the country. DRS is therefore a policy that should carry universal support,” added the letter.
