Leading Fed member talks to MPs on UK’s DRS
INDEPENDENT retailers will be vital to the success of the UK’s DRS plans, says a leading Fed member as he spoke during to a panel at the Labour Party Conference.
London-based member Kaual Patel, of Torridon Stores, spoke to Labour MPs, senior industry representatives and deposit management organsation Exchange for Change to advocate for the important role that retailers will play come October 2027.
Patel spoke during a panel discussion on the matter that included Labour MPs Chris Bloore and Deirdre Costigan, as well as Zak Miller from Carnaud MetalBox RVM Solutions, Sam Jones of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Guy Mason from Heineken.
The Fed member told the panel that members need to “start preparing as soon as possible” in an echo to The Fed’s own message at its annual conference in June.
Further to this, he acknowledged the costs associated with the scheme ranging from setting up a machine or manual return point, though also mentioned that these expenses could be dwarfed by the amount that retailers stand to lose out on by having footfall diverted from their stores to other businesses who are part of the scheme.
He also highlighted the importance of ensuring that smaller shops across urban areas will a floor space of under 100sqm should also be able to opt-in as easily as possible and that a voluntary process for the scheme should not be burdensome.
Calling on further help from Exchange for Change to support these store owners, Patel said: “My message is simple: retailers need clarity, guidance, and support from the scheme – particularly smaller retailers wanting to participate voluntarily.”
