Government scraps mandatory cup takeback scheme for retailers

The UK Government has reversed plans to introduce mandatory takeback schemes for single-use cups, citing high costs and limited environmental benefits. The decision affects businesses that supply drinks in fibre-based composite cups across all four nations.

Analysis showed the scheme would cost £52 million to implement while achieving minimal environmental improvements, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

"Analysis has shown the mandatory takeback scheme for cups proposed by the previous Government would not have the intended impact on boosting recycling rates and reducing litter. It would cost £52 million to the government and industry, placing unnecessary burdens on business," a Defra spokesperson has confirmed to resource.co.

Limited environmental impact

The cancelled policy would have required businesses with ten or more full-time staff members to provide collection bins, arrange recycling services, and report collection data to regulators. However, government analysis suggests the scheme would reduce cup littering by less than two per cent and increase the recycling rate of single-use cups by only seven per cent over a decade.

Defra says that the environmental benefits are considered insufficient to justify pursuing the previous administration’s plan, with greenhouse gas emissions savings estimated at less than £4 million, which the department states is a fraction of the projected £10 billion in emissions reductions expected from wider Collection and Packaging Reforms.

Industry response

The decision has prompted concern from Reconomy, which runs The National Cup Recycling Scheme. David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at Reconomy Connect, commented: "With more than 3 billion cups going to waste every year, according to research by Reconomy, and the current legislative landscape being fragmented, we had been anticipating the planned introduction of the mandatory takeback scheme to boost the recycling rates of cups and reduce waste."

Gudgeon emphasised the need for alternative solutions: "Given this policy isn't going to progress, the responsibility will now fall back to businesses and the waste industry who will need to work more closely together to come up with innovative solutions to build on the industry's progress to date, lift recycling rates and create a more circular and sustainable future for our communities."

The government maintains its commitment to wider environmental goals, with the Defra spokesperson stating: "This Government will end our throwaway society and move us to a future where we keep our resources in use for longer and waste is reduced, while accelerating the path to net zero."

According to Defra, the decision will enable businesses to focus on implementing other collection and packaging reforms, which it projects will support 21,000 jobs and stimulate more than £10 billion of investment in recycling capability over the next decade.