New supermarket bottled drink rule under Andy Burnham UK 2027

Key Points

• England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will launch a Deposit Return Scheme on 1 October 2027 under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
• Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and other major supermarkets will charge shoppers a flat 20p refundable deposit on eligible single-use drinks containers.
• The rule covers single-use containers holding between 150 millilitres and three litres made from PET plastic, aluminium, or steel.
• Shoppers can get their 20p back without a receipt by dropping off empty containers at reverse vending machines or manual collection points in participating shops.
• Glass bottles in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, along with HDPE milk bottles, cartons, and liquid medicines, are excluded from the scheme at launch, though Wales will include glass.
• Independent stores can apply for a £6,000 installation grant, while small urban shops with a floor space under 100 square metres do not have to host a return point.

United Kingdom (Birmingham Express) November 14, 2026 – Shoppers across the United Kingdom will pay a mandatory 20p refundable deposit on single-use bottled and canned drinks from 1 October 2027 under rules overseen by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The regulation forms part of the national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which affects major supermarket chains including Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s.

Under the legislation, consumers will see a 20p charge added at the till when purchasing eligible single-use drinks containers.

Shoppers will reclaim that 20p payment in full by returning the empty containers to designated return points.

How will the 20p supermarket bottled drink rule work for UK shoppers?

Customers purchasing in-scope drinks at supermarkets, convenience stores, and newsagents will pay the 20p deposit upfront at the point of sale.

Once the drink is finished, shoppers can take the empty container back to a participating return point to receive a refund via voucher, card, or cash.

As reported by James Rodger of Birmingham Live, the government confirmed that the deposit rate will be a flat 20p on all in-scope containers.

Larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s will host automated reverse vending machines where customers feed in empty bottles and cans.

Smaller participating retailers will have the option to operate manual over-the-counter return points where staff process refunds through the till.

As reported by the Ealing Times, shoppers will not need to present a purchase receipt when bringing empty bottles and cans back to collection points.

Returned containers must remain unbroken, unsoiled, and empty so that machines or staff can verify the official scheme logo and barcode.

Which drinks containers are included and excluded from the 2027 scheme?

The 20p deposit applies to all single-use drinks containers with a capacity between 150 millilitres and three litres.

Eligible containers must be made wholly or mainly from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, aluminium, or steel.

Containers that feature a lid or cap made from a different material remain fully included within the scheme.

Several everyday household containers are exempt from the charge at launch.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers, which are commonly used for fresh milk bottles, are excluded.

Liquid medicines such as cough syrup, as well as flavour enhancers, syrups, and hot sauces, are also outside the scope of the rules.

In England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, glass bottles will not carry the 20p deposit when the scheme begins.

Wales will operate its own aligned regulations from 1 October 2027, which will include glass drinks containers alongside plastic and metal.

What have officials and industry leaders said about the Deposit Return Scheme?

The scheme is administered across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales by UK Deposit Management Organisation Limited, which trades under the official brand name Exchange for Change.

Following the confirmation of the flat 20p deposit value, Exchange for Change Chief Executive Russell Davies stated: “Confirming this now, with just under 18 months to go until the DRS is live, will help producers and retailers with their planning and preparation for the scheme, and we will continue to support them closely throughout this process.”

Environment officials have emphasised that the policy is designed to curb street litter and boost domestic recycling quality.

As noted by EcoVend, Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh stated: “This Government will clean up Britain and end the throwaway society. This is a vital step as we stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our streets, rivers and oceans.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that the Environment Agency and Trading Standards will enforce the rules in England.

What are the rules and exemptions for supermarkets, pubs, and small shops?

All retailers selling eligible drinks must pay the 20p deposit to producers or wholesalers when buying stock and pass that charge to customers at the till.

Retailers are required to register with Exchange for Change, store returned containers securely for collection, and display clear customer guidance.

To support shopkeepers with operational costs, Exchange for Change established a tiered Return Handling Fee.

Retailers operating manual return points will receive 3p per returned container.

Stores using automated reverse vending machines will receive 5p per container for the first 225,000 items returned annually, dropping to 1.3p per container above that threshold.

Urban retailers with a retail floor space of less than 100 square metres are automatically exempt from hosting a return point, though they may apply to host one voluntarily.

Other shops may apply for an exemption if they are located close to an existing return point or if store layout makes hosting one impractical.

Exchange for Change has also allocated a £60 million fund to provide grants of £6,000 per site over three years for eligible independent retailers installing reverse vending machines.

Hospitality venues such as pubs, cafes, and restaurants do not have to host public return points and may opt out of charging customers the 20p deposit if drinks are consumed on the premises.

Background of the UK Deposit Return Scheme

The Deposit Return Scheme was originally developed and legislated under previous administrations, including the Sir Keir Starmer government, before being inherited by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

According to Defra figures, UK consumers use approximately 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion metal cans every year.

Research conducted by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy found that small plastic bottles and non-alcoholic cans account for 43 per cent of litter by volume across the country.

In May 2025, the UK Government, Scottish Government, and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs appointed UK Deposit Management Organisation Limited to manage the rollout.

The brand identity Exchange for Change was unveiled in January 2026, followed by the confirmation of the 20p deposit rate in April 2026 and retailer handling fees in June 2026.

Drinks producers must register their existing product lines with the scheme administrator by 9 July 2027, ahead of a six-month transition window from October 2027 to March 2028 for remaining non-compliant stock.

Similar deposit systems already operate in European nations such as Germany, Sweden, and the Republic of Ireland, where return rates have reached 90 per cent.

Prediction: How the 2027 rule will affect UK shoppers and retailers

For UK supermarket shoppers, the primary immediate impact from October 2027 will be higher upfront checkout totals when purchasing multipacks or individual bottles and cans.

A household buying a 10-pack of bottled water or canned soft drinks will pay an additional £2 at the till, which will only be recovered once the empty containers are taken back to a store.

Consumers who rely on kerbside household recycling bins rather than returning items to supermarket reverse vending machines will effectively forfeit their 20p deposits, as unreturned funds stay within the scheme to finance its operation.

Shoppers may also adjust their purchasing habits toward larger multi-serve bottles—such as a single two-litre bottle carrying one 20p deposit—rather than multiple small single-serve bottles.

For supermarkets and convenience stores, the rollout will require significant floor-space reconfiguration, till software upgrades to separate the 20p deposit from product prices, and dedicated back-room storage for uncrushed manual returns.

If collection targets are met, Exchange for Change projects that the scheme will capture up to 90 per cent of eligible single-use containers within three years of launch, diverting billions of bottles and cans from general waste into closed-loop recycling.