Assembly Written Question 18228/17-22

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether he will consider introducing a bottle deposit scheme for Northern Ireland.

Answer: My officials have been developing options for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers, alongside England and Wales to ensure consistency for major UK suppliers and retailers. I launched a public consultation on options for the DRS on 24 March 2021, which will close on 4th June 2021. Further detail on the proposed DRS can be found on the following link. https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/consultations/introducing-deposit-return-scheme-england-wales-and-northern-ireland