If you sell drinks in glass bottles, the headline news on the 2027 Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is good in most of the UK and worth watching closely in one part of it. From 1 October 2027, a 20p refundable deposit applies to single-use plastic, aluminium, and steel drinks containers in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Glass bottles are not included. Wales has built a different scheme that does include glass, and if you sell into the Welsh market, that changes what you need to plan for.

Here is what the scheme covers, what it means for the wine, beer, cider, and spirit bottles you're already buying from us, and where the nation you sell into changes the answer.

The Short Version

In England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, your glass bottles are not part of the DRS. No deposit, no scheme labelling, no producer registration for those containers. In Wales, glass bottles are in scope, though with a transition period until 2031 where the deposit is set at zero pence. If you sell exclusively into England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, nothing about your bottle sourcing needs to change because of the DRS. If Wales is part of your market, read the Wales section below before you finalise your 2027 packaging plans.

What the DRS Covers, and Why Glass Isn't in It

The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025, with aligned Scottish legislation, cover single-use drinks containers that are:

  • made wholly or mainly from PET plastic, aluminium, or steel
  • between 150ml and 3 litres
  • intended for one-off or short-term use

Glass isn't on that list, and neither is HDPE (the plastic used for milk bottles). The scheme is run by Exchange for Change, the organisation appointed to manage the DRS across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In April 2026, Exchange for Change confirmed the deposit will be a flat 20p per container, chosen after testing showed lower amounts didn't drive high enough return rates and higher amounts risked putting too much cost on the consumer at the till.

If you're a small producer, there's also a low-volume exemption: product lines under 5,000 units a year don't need the deposit, scheme labelling, or producer fee applied, though you still register and report your numbers to Exchange for Change. This matters if you're bottling small runs of a new product, but if your bottles are glass, it's academic. You're outside the scheme either way.

What This Means If You Sell in England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland

Nothing changes about how you buy or use glass bottles. Our full range, from wine bottles and beer bottles to cider bottles and spirit bottles, sits outside DRS scope in these three nations. You won't need to apply scheme labelling to glass, register those containers with Exchange for Change, or build deposit handling into your packing line.

If you currently package in PET, aluminium, or steel and are weighing a move to glass ahead of October 2027, this is a genuine factor in that decision. Producers switching to DRS-scope materials take on registration with Exchange for Change, deposit labelling, and reconciliation of deposits collected and paid out. Glass carries none of that. It stays inside the existing packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) system, which you're likely already familiar with if you package in the UK, and nothing new is layered on top from the DRS.

Your existing bottle specifications don't need to change for DRS compliance. If you're reviewing your packaging for other reasons, our wine bottle sizes guide and non-alcoholic beer bottles buyer's guide cover format selection in more depth.

What This Means If You Sell in Wales

This is where the picture changes. Wales passed its own DRS regulations in March 2026, and it is the only one of the four UK nations to include glass bottles in scope from the start. If any part of your distribution reaches Welsh retailers, wholesalers, or direct-to-consumer customers, your glass bottles will eventually need to carry the deposit and scheme labelling required in Wales, even though the same bottles sold in England would not.

There is a four-year transition period built in, running from 1 October 2027 to 30 September 2031. During this window, the deposit on glass containers is set at zero pence, and glass is exempt from the scheme's labelling requirements. In practical terms, this gives Welsh producers and anyone distributing into Wales time before glass bottles need full deposit and labelling treatment there.

What isn't settled yet is the cost side. Wales hasn't confirmed who will administer its DRS. Exchange for Change, which runs the scheme for the rest of the UK, applied to run the Welsh scheme too, and the Welsh Government turned that application down in April 2026. Exchange for Change has said it plans to appeal and reapply, but as things stand Wales is building its own separate scheme administration from scratch.

More importantly for anyone bottling in glass, British Glass, the industry body, has been warning since mid-2026 that producers selling glass drinks containers into Wales could end up paying both packaging EPR fees and Deposit Return Scheme costs on the same bottles, something that doesn't happen anywhere else in the UK. This "double charging" issue was still unresolved as of June 2026. If a meaningful share of your sales goes into Wales, it's worth checking in with your compliance scheme or trade body over the next year rather than assuming today's cost base holds.

What to Do Next

If England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland cover your market, there's nothing to action. Your glass bottle sourcing and specification decisions can be made on the same basis as always: fit for the product, right weight and finish for your fill line, and priced against your production volumes.

If Wales is part of your distribution, start tracking the Welsh DRS administrator appointment and the double-charging question over the next 12 months. The zero-pence transition period gives you time, but it isn't the same as a resolved cost picture, and glass bottle producers selling into Wales are in a genuinely different position from those selling into the rest of the UK.

Either way, this is a good moment to review your bottle range against your current markets. Browse our glass bottle range, or get in touch if you want to talk through what the DRS means for your specific product and markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do glass bottles need a deposit under the UK's 2027 Deposit Return Scheme?

Not in England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. The DRS launching 1 October 2027 in those nations covers single-use PET plastic, aluminium, and steel containers between 150ml and 3 litres. Glass bottles are excluded. Wales is different: its DRS includes glass bottles from launch, though with a transition period until 2031 where the deposit is set at zero pence.

I only sell in England. Does the Deposit Return Scheme affect my glass bottles at all?

No. If your distribution is limited to England (or Scotland or Northern Ireland), your glass bottles fall outside DRS scope entirely. You don't need to register those containers with Exchange for Change, apply scheme labelling, or change your bottle specifications because of the scheme.

What happens if I sell into Wales?

Wales's DRS includes glass bottles from 1 October 2027, with a four-year transition period during which the deposit is zero pence and labelling is not required. After the transition ends in September 2031, full deposit and labelling requirements are expected to apply. There is also an unresolved industry concern about producers being charged for both packaging EPR and DRS on the same glass containers in Wales, which businesses selling into that market should monitor.

Is the DRS deposit the same amount everywhere in the UK?

Where the deposit applies, it's a flat 20p per container across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, confirmed by Exchange for Change in April 2026. Wales's glass deposit is set at zero pence during its transition period, so no deposit will be charged on Welsh glass bottles until at least October 2031.

Does moving from plastic or cans to glass avoid the Deposit Return Scheme?

In England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, yes. Glass sits outside DRS scope in those nations, while PET, aluminium, and steel containers are in scope and require deposit handling and scheme labelling. This is a genuine consideration for producers deciding on packaging format ahead of the October 2027 launch, though it applies to the DRS specifically and doesn't remove your existing packaging EPR obligations.

Sources

  1. Deposit Return Scheme: drinks producer and retailer responsibilities -- Defra, gov.uk
  2. Deposit Return Scheme for Wales approved to tackle litter and drive reuse -- Welsh Government, gov.wales
  3. Exchange for Change confirms flat 20p deposit value for DRS -- Exchange for Change (UK DMO)
  4. Glass industry warns Welsh recycling plans are "unworkable" and faces double charging -- British Glass