The Welsh government has no intention of “returning to the fold” after quitting the UK-wide DRS rollout, industry bosses have been warned.
It has emerged Wales has cemented plans for its breakaway scheme, including glass, after insisting it wants to develop a scheme that will preserve its “world leading” position for recycling.
The Welsh government’s insistence comes despite figures seen by The Grocer this week revealing that only a fraction of plastic in the country is being recycled into reusable food grade packaging or recycled bottles. Thousands of tonnes of plastic in Wales are instead being turned into bags for life, plastic sacks or pallets.
Head of the Welsh DRS Laura Harrison revealed to the industry this week that the Welsh government would launch a breakaway consultation on DRS in the summer. Wales had revealed in November it was quitting the planned UK rollout due for October 2027.
Supermarket bosses claim its decision will cause cross-border chaos and have called for the UK rollout to be delayed as a result. There are fears a Welsh system will not be ready to roll out until as late as 2030.
“We’ve been speaking to the Welsh government and I don’t get the feeling they are looking to come back to a UK-wide model any time soon,” said a leading retailer source.
“In fact, they are looking to develop a DRS that is different and that causes chaos for companies, who have to work out how they get a DRS for the border which satisfies their Welsh customer and vice versa.
“The Wales timetable is now different to the UK one because they are only likely to consult on their scheme by the end of this year.
“Then you have Welsh elections. The likelihood of them getting their regulation in place, let alone the scheme, is probably two years behind the UK.”
A drinks industry source added: “With Senedd elections next May, that would mean any solution would not be implemented until the next Senedd.”
Industry sources say the Welsh stance is even more concerning when its claim to be a world leader in recycling is subjected to closer scrutiny.
It has emerged that while it is second in the world for items collected, Wales ranks 13th for materials “separated for recycling”, with only 33% of household plastic, including soft drinks bottles, actually recycled
Further data published by the Welsh government reveals most of that 33% is “downcycled” or exported, with sources saying there was “little to no evidence” that any of it was recycled back into beverage containers.
Sources contrasted the figures to those of the Republic of Ireland, where 88% of the bottles collected through its DRS, launched a year ago, now get recycled back into plastic bottles.
A report published by Eunomia in May last year, co-funded by the Welsh government, reveals Wales’ recycling rate to be at 58.6% – lower than its claim in a 2021 report to have a municipal waste recycling waste rate in excess of 65%.
Within the same Eunomia report, Wales ranks 13th globally for separated recycling rates for beverage containers, performing significantly worse than countries that have already implemented a DRS, including Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.
While 59% of plastic beverage containers in Wales were separated for recycling, only 33% of household plastic as a whole, including beverage containers, was recycled.
Meanwhile, data from Wrap Cymru shows that a significant portion of collected plastic ends up being reprocessed into material for “resaleable products such as bags for life, refuse sacks, and LDPE pellets”.
“At a headline level Wales’ figures are very impressive,” said one source. “But when you dig into the data it does start to raise questions as to why they are so opposed to new interventions such as DRS, particularly when it comes to closing the loop on plastic bottle recycling.”
However, the Welsh government insists it is right to go it alone on DRS.
“As Wales is currently ranked second globally for recycling, we are in a unique position to implement a scheme that builds upon our existing high recycling rates,” said Harrison.
She said Wales would “continue our efforts to develop a scheme that promotes the reuse of all drinks containers, including glass.
“Our goal is to prioritise on the development of a DRS in Wales that effectively supports the move towards increased reuse and a circular economy.”
Wales is to hold a DRS conference at Llandudno in March to discuss more details of its proposals.
“We are bringing stakeholders together prior to our consultation on how a DRS with reuse will work for Wales,” added Harrison.
The Welsh government has been asked for comment on its recycling figures.
No comments yet