Context

97% of the UK’s beaches are polluted with drinks litter. The deposit return scheme (DRS), where customers pay a small deposit on top of the price of a drink and get their money back for returning the container, is a vital tool to reduce pollution of plastic drinks bottles.  However, despite widespread public support and the previous Government committing in 2017 to introduce a DRS, it had been repeatedly delayed.  In Scotland, the 2023 launch was halted due to intense lobbying from parts of industry, raising concerns the same might happen in other parts of the UK. 

Our activity

Reloop asked Seahorse to develop a strategic campaign to neutralise counter lobbying and set the DRS in law. Knowing we needed to shore up support for the policy long before it was voted on in Parliament, we set out to engage Labour MPs and candidates ahead of the 2024 General Election. We convened Labour MPs ahead of the manifesto drafting process, which led to now Secretary of State Steve Reed making a pre-election pledge to introduce the scheme.

Our impact

At the start of 2024 there was uncertainty over the future of DRS, with the Labour Party having said little about the policy in opposition. Through a carefully developed political strategy and engagement with key decision makers, including a meeting with the Circular Economy Minister, Seahorse and Reloop secured the Government’s commitment to introduce the policy.

After years of uncertainty, the legislation for the scheme was successfully laid and approved in Parliament in early 2025. This much-needed scheme is now on track to be delivered by October 2027.