Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) operator Exchange For Change is developing a targeted grant scheme to help small, independent retailers cover the upfront costs of installing reverse vending machines (RVMs) as the scheme is rolled out.
The grant is aimed at those retailers that will be required to host return points and where an RVM is considered the most appropriate solution based on expected return volumes. Funding would sit alongside the Return Handling Fee (RHF).
Under the proposal, the grant would be worth £6,000 per site, paid over three years as three annual payments of £2,000. The first payment would be made around three months after implementation. Exchange For Change plans to set aside £60m to fund grants over the first three years of scheme operation.
The grant is intended to help with the initial capital outlay of RVM installation, improve the viability of participation for smaller retailers and support a well-distributed return point network. Exchange For Change said the overall funding envelope, detailed eligibility criteria and operational performance requirements will be developed further.
Exchange For Change also set out its proposed approach to return point exemptions. Under regulations, retailers in urban areas with a retail space under 100m² would be automatically exempt from operating a return point, though they could choose to host one. It is also exploring additional exemption conditions for other retailers, including factors such as proximity to alternative local return points and constraints linked to space and layout, health, safety or hygiene risks, building restrictions and utilities or infrastructure limitations.
Further detail on eligibility criteria and application processes for exemptions, full terms and conditions of the grant scheme and additional retailer guidance is expected over the coming weeks.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) welcomed the news and reiterated its call for the scheme to be cost neutral for retailers, warning that a scheme that costs retailers money will result in more sites seeking exemptions and community access to return points suffering as a result.
ACS Chief Executive Ed Woodall said: “It is essential that local shops are not penalised for hosting return points, so we welcome the introduction of grants for the smallest retailers and a more proportionate approach to exemptions. Retailers need clarity on the net costs of the scheme to be able to make a decision on how they take part.
“If grants and handling fees are not set at the right level, the scheme risks failing not just the retailers expected to deliver it, but the communities they serve, by undermining convenient access for consumers to recycle containers and redeem deposits.”
