---
title: "UK's bottle-and-can deposit scheme could nudge up drink prices, industry warns"
description: "Britain's long-delayed deposit return scheme for drinks containers is due to launch in October 2027, asking shoppers to pay a small refundable deposit on every bottle and can. Supporters say it will transform recycling; the drinks industry warns the added costs could push up the price of a drink."
category: "Science"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/science
author: "Elena Castro"
published: 2026-06-29T21:08:00.000Z
updated: 2026-06-29T21:08:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/uk-deposit-return-scheme-drink-prices
tags: ["recycling", "environment", "deposit-return-scheme", "uk", "waste"]
---
# UK's bottle-and-can deposit scheme could nudge up drink prices, industry warns

Britain's long-delayed deposit return scheme for drinks containers is due to launch in October 2027, asking shoppers to pay a small refundable deposit on every bottle and can. Supporters say it will transform recycling; the drinks industry warns the added costs could push up the price of a drink.

A scheme designed to get Britons recycling far more of their bottles and cans is set to begin in October 2027 — and it has reopened a familiar argument about who pays.

## How it works

Under the deposit return scheme, shoppers will pay a refundable deposit of 20p on single-use drinks containers, [The Grocer reported](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/20p-deposit-for-single-use-containers-from-2027-confirmed/718076.article), getting the money back when they return the empties — to a shop, a collection point or a "reverse-vending" machine that swallows the container and issues a refund. The idea is simple: attach a small price to throwing a container away, and people return it instead.

## What's covered, and where

The scheme will run across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, [according to the UK government](https://defraenvironment.blog.gov.uk/2025/01/31/introducing-the-deposit-return-scheme-for-drinks-containers/), covering plastic bottles and aluminium and steel cans. Glass is excluded from the three-nation scheme; Wales is pursuing a separate version that does include glass bottles.

## The case for it

Supporters and the government argue that deposit systems work strikingly well. In Germany, where such a scheme has operated for two decades, return rates run at around 98%, and Norway's exceeds 90%, [The Grocer noted](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-opinion/what-the-rest-of-the-world-can-teach-us-about-deposit-return-schemes/684024.article). Higher return rates mean less litter, cleaner streets and a steady supply of high-quality material for recycling — benefits the government says will outweigh the costs over time, with the bill funded by drinks producers rather than taxpayers.

## The industry's worry

The drinks and retail industry is less convinced that the cost will stop at a refundable 20p. Beyond the deposit, retailers face handling fees and administrative and infrastructure costs, and industry figures have warned those could feed through to shelf prices — with the price of a drink rising by up to 50p, the drinks industry has said, [as reported by the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8ry5p08x7o). The British Retail Consortium has called the scheme "costly and complicated," questioning its timing amid existing pressure on food prices, [the House of Commons Library noted](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10453/). Smaller shops, in particular, worry about finding room for return machines and storing returned containers, and an earlier Scottish scheme collapsed amid disputes over costs and readiness.

## The balance

The debate, in the end, is the one that surrounds many green policies: a clear environmental prize set against an upfront cost and a burden on business. Backers point to the high return rates achieved abroad as proof the model works; critics counter that the money might do more good spent on improving kerbside collection. With the launch date set for October 2027, both sides now have a deadline — and shoppers will, before long, find out how the sums add up at the till.