The United Kingdom’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is scheduled to go live on 1 October 2027. Industry experts, including reverse vending specialist TOMRA, are urging retailers, waste managers, and the wider packaging supply chain to utilise the remaining preparation window to establish the necessary infrastructure, digital systems, and logistics.
The implementation of the DRS will fundamentally restructure how beverage containers—specifically PET bottles and steel or aluminium cans—are collected and recycled across the UK. By placing a redeemable deposit on these single-use containers, the scheme aims to capture high volumes of clean, uncontaminated material. For UK waste management companies, this represents a significant diversion of valuable PET from traditional household kerbside recycling streams into dedicated return points. Packaging converters will subsequently face a reshaped market for recycled PET (rPET), characterised by tighter control over material circularity and a drive towards closed-loop food-contact applications.
This regulatory shift carries direct consequences for the UK–Türkiye plastics trade corridor. Currently, Turkish recyclers rely on importing consistent, high-quality plastic waste fractions from the UK to feed their reprocessing facilities. As the UK DRS concentrates high-purity PET bottles domestically to meet local recycled content mandates, the volume of clean, exportable PET scrap from the UK is likely to contract. Turkish recyclers who export high-quality rPET pellets back into the UK market must also prepare for shifting domestic supply dynamics, as UK converters may increasingly prioritise domestically sourced DRS material to satisfy local sustainability targets.
As a practical takeaway, UK waste operators and Turkish recycling partners should audit their feedstock portfolios immediately. Businesses must anticipate a reduction in kerbside PET bottle volumes by 2027 and actively diversify into other polymer streams, or secure long-term supply agreements, to mitigate the upcoming supply squeeze.
