Deposit return scheme retailers: UK DRS Return Point Rules
The UK DRS Return Point Rules carries 2 published figures read from 1 source's own page, from 3 to 7 year, read 28 October 2026.
2 of the 17 named sources read in full publish a figure; 15 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
By rule
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruleproducer record keeping (Wales) | 7year | 7 to 7year | 1 |
| ruleminimum return rate from 2032 (Wales) | 95% | 95 to 95% | 1 |
| rulelongest renewal of a return point exemption (Wales) | 3year | 3 to 3year | 1 |
| rulesmall retailer grant per site (Exchange for Change) | 6,000GBP | 6,000 to 6,000GBP | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange for Change: DRS support for retailers | 6,000GBP | small retailer grant per site (Exchange for Change) | 2026-10-28 |
| The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026 | 95% | minimum return rate from 2032 (Wales) | 2026-10-28 |
| The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026 | 7year | producer record keeping (Wales) | 2026-10-28 |
| The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026 | 3year | longest renewal of a return point exemption (Wales) | 2026-10-28 |
The sentence each figure was read from (4)
- Exchange for Change: DRS support for retailers, read 2026-10-28:
Grants of £6,000 will be made available per site to qualifying small, independent retailers in three annual payments of £2,000, which will be funded three months after the installation of an RVM.
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026, read 2026-10-28:
in the calendar year beginning on 1 January 2032, and in each subsequent calendar year, 95% of all refund items from deposit items supplied by registered scheme producers.
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026, read 2026-10-28:
keep that record for a period of 7 years beginning with the day on which it is made.
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026, read 2026-10-28:
A return point exemption must not be renewed for a period of more than 3 years.
Read in full, publishes no figure
15 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- SI 2025/67 explanatory note, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK: DRS producer and retailer responsibilities, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Welsh Government: DRS Wales approved, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Senedd Research: DRS regulations in brief, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Scottish Government: deposit return scheme, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- RPC opinion on the DRS regulations, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Exchange for Change (UK Deposit Management Organisation), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Exchange for Change opens registration, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Retail Gazette: DRS return handling fees, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Resource: £60m for small retailers' machines, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Forecourt Trader: £6,000 grants, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Clarity: new RVM rules, exemptions and support, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- ACS DRS resources centre, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
2 of the 17 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 15 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in year (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 2 figures, never sentences; 134 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): per nation the instrument, the start date, who must host a return point, the deposit, the return handling fee per container (manual and RVM tiers) and the grant, each cited to the regulation or the administrator's own page
134 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (18)
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- SI 2025/67 explanatory note(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK: DRS producer and retailer responsibilities(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Welsh Government: DRS Wales approved(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Senedd Research: DRS regulations in brief(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Scottish Government: deposit return scheme(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- RPC opinion on the DRS regulations(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Exchange for Change (UK Deposit Management Organisation)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Exchange for Change: DRS support for retailers(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Exchange for Change opens registration(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Retail Gazette: DRS return handling fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Resource: £60m for small retailers' machines(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Forecourt Trader: £6,000 grants(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Clarity: new RVM rules, exemptions and support(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ACS DRS resources centre(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- exchangeforchange.co.uk(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The UK DRS Return Point Rules carries 2 published figures read from 1 source's own page, from 3 to 7 year, read 28 October 2026.
2 of the 17 named sources read in full publish a figure; 15 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
UK DRS Return Point Rules, rule producer record keeping (Wales): median 7 year across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
UK DRS Return Point Rules, rule minimum return rate from 2032 (Wales): median 95 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
UK DRS Return Point Rules, rule longest renewal of a return point exemption (Wales): median 3 year across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
UK DRS Return Point Rules, rule small retailer grant per site (Exchange for Change): median 6,000 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
Cite as: "reversevendingmachinecost.co.uk UK DRS Return Point Rules", updated 2026-10-28, https://reversevendingmachinecost.co.uk/datasets/uk-drs-return-point-rules/.
Download the CSV (4 rows, computed 2026-10-28)