Speculation is rife that the UK’s upcoming deposit return scheme (DRS) is set to be delayed once again until 2028.

The I newspaper reported today that sources revealed ministers have ‘halted’ work on any progress. No official announcement has been made yet, but it is understood the go-live date of 2025 is no longer accurate.

In response, The Fed’s national president Muntazir Dipoti said: “We will be deeply disappointed if the DRS is indeed delayed until 2028.

“The Fed has always believed the scheme has huge potential to boost recycling and curb litter, two issues which impact on everyone’s environment and quality of life.

“By learning from the flawed scheme in Scotland which caused us concern, we hoped that a UK-wide scheme would be operational long before 2028.”

There is no fully operational scheme live anywhere across the UK, with little guidance still given as to retailer handling fees, machine requirements or waste collection frequency.

The Scottish Retail Consortium’s deputy head, Ewan MacDonald-Russell added: “To ensure the scheme delivers for consumers it will need to provide fair compensation to retailers and be implemented on a sensible timeframe.

“We await an announcement from the four home nations governments confirming the regulations, scope and timeframe which will allow us to take the next steps towards delivering deposit return.”