UK Deposit Return: Automatic or Manual Handling - Are you ready? – Week 4

27 Aug 2026

Aug 27

The UK DRS is coming soon and will be the biggest change for our sector in a generation. Don’t miss you chance to inform this important issue (just 3 minutes).

The UK Deposit Return Scheme will launch in October 2027. Taking part in the scheme will be critical for our sector, providing a key service for convenience store customers across Scotland. Retailers need to know their options, and what works best for them.

SGF sits on the Industry Advisory Group for Exchange For Change (scheme administrators). To help inform our work and provide important information on the sector’s preparedness, please complete the three-minute Survey here:

Survey: UK Deposit Return: Automatic or Manual Handing - Are you ready?

Published Retail Handling Fees:

Manual return points - 3p per container
Automatic return points -
o Tier 1 – 5p per container, up to 225,000 in-scope items returned annually.
o Tier 2 – 1.3p per container, for annual in-scope returns in excess of 225,000.

For further details on grants & exemptions please click the link to the survey. The survey will run for four weeks through August 2026.