Uncategorized
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DRS Is a Data Problem Before It’s a Recycling Problem
As the UK prepares for the 2027 rollout of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), public debate continues to focus on visible infrastructure: machines, logistics, and consumer participation. Yet the real systemic risk lies beneath the surface. Before DRS becomes a recycling problem, it is already a data problem. Without trusted, shared, and timely information, neither…
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Preparing for DRS 2027: Why the UK Must Begin Its Transition Now
The United Kingdom is approaching one of the most significant structural changes to its waste-management landscape in decades: the introduction of a nationwide Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Although implementation will not begin until 2027, we should start laying the groundwork now. Systems are fragmented, incentives are inconsistent, and organisations across the public and private sectors…
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Universities and the Circular Economy: Why Higher Education Holds the Key to Measurable Sustainability
Walk through any university campus today, and you’ll see the future of sustainability in motion: reusable cups, recycling stations, student-led green societies, and climate pledges proudly displayed in lecture halls. Yet behind this visible momentum lies a complex challenge: how to measure progress in a way that is consistent, connected, and genuinely impactful. Higher education…
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When Policy Meets Pavement: The Role of Councils, NGOs, and Communities in the UK’s Deposit Return Journey
The success of the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) won’t be decided in boardrooms or policy papers alone; it will be shaped on the ground, in communities, schools, and local recycling centres, where sustainability either takes root or fades into bureaucracy. At that level, one group has always carried the real pulse of change: local…
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The Overlooked Engine of DRS: Why More Innovative Logistics Will Make or Break Recycling
When most people think of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), they imagine the front end: a consumer dropping a bottle into a machine, receiving a voucher, and leaving satisfied. But behind that moment is a complex chain of activity, one that quietly determines whether DRS succeeds or struggles. That chain belongs to the logistics and…
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Retailers and the DRS: The Frontline Stakeholders Who Will Make or Break Success
When the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) goes live, its success won’t just depend on the size of the deposit or the number of bottles redeemed. It will rely on something far more human, the experience that customers have when they walk into a shop to return their empty containers. Retailers sit at the frontline…
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Cost, Compliance & Circularity: What DRS Really Means for Beverage Producers
When we talk about the UK’s upcoming Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), beverage producers and manufacturers are at the very centre of the conversation. They are the ones who will finance the system, redesign packaging to meet new requirements, and carry much of the responsibility for its success. Yet, for producers, DRS is more than a…
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Public Buy-In or System Breakdown?
Why the General Public Holds the Key to a Successful UK Deposit Return Scheme As the UK’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) inches closer to rollout, much of the policy discussion has focused on infrastructure, compliance, and logistics. Yet one stakeholder group will ultimately determine whether the system succeeds or fails: the public. DRS is more…
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After Scotland’s Experience: Designing a DMO the UK Can Trust
As the UK edges closer to a national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), attention is turning to the organisation at its heart, the Deposit Management Organisation, or DMO. This body will be responsible for implementing DRS on the ground, encompassing tasks such as collecting and redistributing deposits, coordinating logistics, refunding consumers, and ensuring regulatory compliance. It’s…
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The Governance Gap in UK DRS: Why Policy Alignment Is the First Hurdle to National Success
As the United Kingdom prepares to roll out a national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), the spotlight often lands on logistics, technology, and environmental impact. But beneath the surface of infrastructure design and public communications lies a more fundamental challenge: governance. DRS is not just an environmental intervention; it is a regulatory system that demands coordination…
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