Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE) and UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe have presented the DRS Playbook, which sets out to be a practical guide to building new and effective Deposit Return Schemes across Europe.
The ‘DRS Playbook: Everything you need to know about developing, financing and operating Deposit Return Schemes’, is designed to support the implementation of effective Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) across Europe.
With the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) recently approved and with more Member States in the process of considering, implementing or redesigning DRS, the Playbook sets out to be a practical, experience-based guide to creating effective collection systems for the environment, consumers and the beverage industry. The development of DRS has been ongoing for several years. When designed and implemented well, DRS can significantly improve the quality and quantity of beverage packaging recycling.
‘There can be no one-size-fits-all for DRS. Every system will need to take into account the country’s specific context. But with this Playbook, we hope to provide the essential ingredients to build effective schemes. By working together and sharing key learnings and best practices, we can build solutions which will deliver circularity for beverage packaging across Europe’, said Patricia Fosselard, Secretary General of NMWE.
‘We are excited to release this playbook. It is a major collaborative effort bringing together our extensive expertise in DRS engagement with one clear goal: to inspire and guide stakeholders in making new DRS work effectively across Europe. This is an important step in our own circularity actions and helping the industry to accelerate progress toward a circular economy for beverage packaging’, adds Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA.
In other news, Portugal announced this spring that it is set to launch its national Deposit Return Scheme for single-use beverage packaging in 2026, with non-profit SDR Portugal as scheme administrator and waste management company Sensoneo as IT solution provider.
If you would like to know more about Deposit Return Schemes and the latest developments in the sector, read Victoria Hattersley’s report where she explores whether DRS is the key to meeting European collection targets.
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