The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025

Applications for return point exemptions

2.—(1) An in-scope retailer may apply before or after 1st October 2027 to the deposit management organisation for a return point exemption in respect of the premises in the exemption application.

(2) An exemption application must be made on either the proximity grounds or the premises grounds.

(3) An exemption application must—

(a) be made in such form and manner as may be directed by the deposit management organisation,

(b) contain the application information, and

(c) contain such other information (if any) as the deposit management organisation may direct.

(4) In this paragraph—

“the application information” means—

(a)

if an exemption application is made on the proximity grounds—

(i)

information about the size of the applicant, which may include information about the—

(aa)

floor area of the specified premises;

(bb)

number of employees or other persons working in the specified premises;

(cc)

annual profit or turnover of the applicant’s business;

(ii)

information about the alternative return point or points which are located in reasonable proximity to the specified premises, and

(iii)

confirmation that the operator of each of those return points has been consulted about the retailer’s application for a return point exemption, and none of them has objected to the potential increase in the number of returnable items likely to be returned to their return point if the return point exemption is granted;

(iv)

any further information the applicant considers may be relevant;

(b)

if an exemption application is made on the premises grounds, information which is sufficient to demonstrate that the location, layout, size, design or construction of the specified premises does not permit, does not easily permit, or, as the case may be, cannot easily be altered to permit the operation of a return point in respect of those premises.