Exchange for Change has set out its intended Producer Fee structure for the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), giving drinks producers and importers a firmer basis for financial and commercial planning.
The Producer Fee will be 0p per container for the first 15 months of DRS, from October 2027 to December 2028. Based on current projections, fees will then rise to:
- 0.6p per aluminium or steel container
- 2.3p per PET container
These projected rates are intended to apply from January 2029 to December 2032, although they will be reviewed, validated, and reconfirmed in May 2027. Once DRS is operational, Producer Fees will also be reviewed annually and adjusted where necessary. The announced post-2028 rates relate to PET, aluminium and steel. Wales also includes glass within its DRS; Exchange for Change has not announced a post-2028 Producer Fee for Welsh glass. Qualifying low-volume product lines are exempt from Producer Fees but remain subject to registration and reporting requirements.
For producers planning around estimates, the announcement removes an important variable. Finance, commercial, and operational teams can now test earlier assumptions, refine budgets and pricing, and identify which decisions can progress with greater confidence.
UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS): Producer Fees for Drinks Containers
The announced rates create a clear cost difference between PET bottles and aluminium or steel containers. Based on current projections, PET containers will attract a 2.3p Producer Fee from January 2029, compared with 0.6p for aluminium and steel.
Producers with a greater share of PET in their portfolio could face higher longer-term Producer Fee costs. Two businesses placing similar numbers of single-use drink containers on the market may still see materially different exposure depending on their mix of PET, aluminium, and steel.
The post-2028 rates should, however, be treated as planning assumptions until they are reviewed and reconfirmed.
From DRS Assumptions to Business Decisions
Up until now, producers have had little choice but to model the Producer Fee’s potential impact using assumptions. Those assumptions can now be tested against the structure announced by the UK deposit management organisation, Exchange for Change.
Producers should use the announced rates to update their existing DRS plans for the UK market, rather than restart the modelling process. The priority is to identify where the new figures change the expected financial impact and which commercial or operational decisions can now progress with greater confidence.
Update existing models with the announced Producer Fees
Producers should now update their existing DRS models using the announced Producer Fee structure, then assess how the revised position compares with the assumptions already shaping budgets, pricing models, and commercial plans.
Where the announced rates differ from previous scenarios, producers should assess the effect across:
- Drinks sold
- Customers supplies
- Sales channels used
Producers that sell drinks through supermarkets, wholesalers, hospitality businesses, and convenience stores may see different commercial impacts depending on volumes, margins, and customer terms.
High-volume or lower-margin lines may warrant particular attention, as even relatively small differences in cost per in-scope container can become significant at scale. Once producers update their models, they can identify which previous assumptions remain workable and where pricing, forecasts, or commercial plans need to change.
Separate launch economics from the post-2028 position
Producers should model the first 15 months separately from the period beginning in January 2029, when the projected Producer Fees are due to apply.
From October 2027 to December 2028, producers will not pay a Producer Fee. They will, however, still face the wider financial and operational impact of implementing DRS, including changes to product data, packaging, systems, reporting, financial processes, and customer arrangements for in-scope containers.
From January 2029, the projected Producer Fees introduce an additional per-container cost that could change the economics of some products and channels.
Businesses should avoid using the launch period as the basis for longer-term pricing or margin decisions. Financial models should clearly show both periods so short-term launch economics do not mask the projected position once the Producer Fee begins to apply. This is particularly important where future fees could materially affect specific products, customer accounts, or sales channels.
Revisit decisions that depended on Producer Fee certainty
The announcement gives producers enough clarity to revisit decisions that were previously dependent on the Producer Fee. That may include:
- Pricing and margin assumptions
- Customer-specific commercial terms
- Budget and forecast updates
- Promotional and discounting strategies
- Product or portfolio decisions
- Invoicing, finance, and reporting requirements
The objective is not to finalise every DRS decision before the post-2028 rates are confirmed. Producers should instead distinguish between decisions that can now progress, those that should remain scenario-based, and those that still depend on further scheme detail.
DRS Regulations and Other Requirements Producers Still Need to Manage
The Producer Fee is only one part of the wider financial and operational impact of DRS. Even with greater certainty over the Producer Fee, producers still need to account for the scheme’s other financial flows and implementation requirements separately.
The 20p refundable deposit
The 20p refundable deposit is separate from the Producer Fee. It creates its own cash-flow, accounting, and reconciliation requirements as deposits move through the scheme and are refunded when an empty container is returned.
The deposit gives consumers a financial incentive to return containers, helping increase collection and recycling rates, reduce litter, and improve material quality for recycling. For PET plastic, a cleaner collection stream can also help keep valuable material in circulation as part of the wider circular economy.
Collection targets differ between the UK schemes. In England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the statutory targets rise from 70% in 2028 to 80% in 2029 and 90% from 2030. Wales has different targets under its 2026 Regulations, reflecting its wider scheme design, including glass and reuse.
How glass bottles are treated across the UK
Glass bottles are treated differently across the UK. They are excluded from DRS in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. The Welsh scheme will include glass bottles from launch, with a 0p deposit and no labelling requirement during a four-year transitional period.
Return Handling Fee and retailer responsibilities
The Return Handling Fee is paid by Exchange for Change to return-point operators rather than directly by individual producers. It should nevertheless be understood as part of the wider cost of operating the DRS, alongside other scheme costs that inform the overall funding requirement and Producer Fee.
Keep DRS regulations and pEPR requirements separate
Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) is separate from DRS regulations. Producers may need to consider both when budgeting and planning reporting requirements, but their respective costs and obligations should remain clearly separated.
Prepare products, data, and systems for launch
Importantly, the 0p Producer Fee does not reduce the implementation work required before 1 October 2027. Producers still need to identify which of their products are in scope before completing product registration, meeting scheme labelling requirements, and preparing packaging, product data, systems, and reporting processes for launch.
The scale is significant: government planning anticipates digital and IT infrastructure capable of supporting registration and reporting for more than 20 billion containers.
What Drinks Producers Should Do Before the May 2027 Review
Producers now have a stronger basis for planning, but they should not yet treat the projected post-2028 rates as fixed. They will be reviewed, validated, and reconfirmed in May 2027.
That said, this should not delay implementation. Instead, producers should use the period before the review to progress decisions that can now be made with greater confidence, while maintaining flexibility around those that remain sensitive to the final rates. In practice, that means:
- Record the Producer Fee assumptions used in budgets, pricing, and commercial decisions.
- Identify which products, customers, and channels are most sensitive to a change in the projected rates.
- Keep alternative scenarios available where the financial outcome could change materially.
- Establish which decisions would need to be revisited if the May 2027 review changes the projected fees.
- Continue the systems, data, packaging, financial processes, and customer arrangements required for launch.
The May review is one milestone within the wider DRS implementation timetable, not a reason to defer preparation. Customer negotiations, data validation, system configuration, financial process changes, and staff preparation will all need to progress ahead of the 1 October 2027 launch.
By May, producers should understand where a change in the projected rates would affect their plans and which decisions would need to be revisited. That allows implementation to continue without treating the current projections as more certain than they are.
How DRS International Can Help
The Producer Fee announcement gives businesses more certainty, but producers still need coordinated input across finance, commercial, operational, and technical teams to put that information into practice.
DRS International helps producers and importers translate scheme requirements into practical commercial, financial, operational, and technical actions. We help businesses understand where DRS has the greatest impact, align decisions across teams, strengthen the processes and controls needed for implementation, and establish clear ownership.
Speak to DRS International to understand how the announced Producer Fee changes your existing DRS plans and determine what action is now required.