Success with DRS: everything you need to know in one day

SLR’s new event will give you everything you need to know to make a success of DRS – all in one day.

October 2026 marks the 12-month countdown until the implementation of the new Deposit Return Scheme, one of the biggest operational challenges that local retailers have faced since the introduction of the National Lottery in 1994.

Having lived through the first attempt to implement a DRS in Scotland, local retailers are all too familiar with the time-consuming challenges that lie ahead. Which is why it’s vital to prepare for DRS 2.0 in good time. To help you do just that, SLR is hosting a special one-day event to provide retailers with everything they need to know – and all in just one day.

Ahead of the game

Held on 28 October in Glasgow and with the support of Headline Partner Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), Success with DRS will arm you with the knowledge and advice you need to ensure that when October 2027 rolls around, you will be fully ready to take advantage of the many opportunities that will present themselves in terms of retaining and growing footfall, sales and profits – while also helping make a massive and instant positive impact on the fantastic environment that makes Scotland famous the world over.

Whether you are a knowledgeable veteran of DRS or you’ve never put much thought into it, Success with DRS will get you up to speed in a single day.

Stellar cast

Speakers on the day will include Jonathan Kemp, former Commercial Director of AG Barr and now Non-Executive Director of Exchange for Change, the scheme administrator. A man who knows local retailing inside out, Kemp will detail the impressive progress made so far by Exchange for Change as well as outlining what remains to be done to ensure that the scheme is fully ready in time for its October 2027 debut. He will also detail precisely what local retailers in Scotland will need to do in order to make sure they are in a position to fully exploit the opportunity.

Also on stage will be Chris Furey, Director of Furey Smyth Retail, a family-owned independent Irish retail business that operates a network of community-based Eurospar stores across Ireland. Chris will share his first-hand experience of DRS since it was launched in Ireland on 1 February 2024.

He will also offer invaluable advice driven by the learnings his business has made during the launch of DRS and since.

Attendees will also hear from Scottish local retailers, wholesalers and suppliers discussing how the implementation of DRS affects their part of the supply chain and what that may mean for local retailers.

Panel sessions will take a deep dive into a number of real-world issues that are likely to face retailers in the run-up to the launch of DRS and beyond, and an open-floor Q&A session will allow attendees to pose any questions they have to the experts on the day.

Finally in session one, we will host a Dragon’s Den-style series of brief presentations by a range of solutions providers, offering attendees the chance to learn more about some of the key options available to them.

Taste and try

With the first session complete, and having learned all that they need to know about DRS, the second session will allow attendees to see first-hand a selection of reverse vending machines and semi-automated manual handling systems from the UK’s leading suppliers:

• Envipco
• RVM Systems
• Tomra
• Carnaud MetalBox RVM Solutions
• Reborn/Trovr

Representatives from each solution provider will be on hand to answer any questions you have about any aspect of DRS.

Armed and ready

Our aim is that by the time retailers leave, they will fully understand the Deposit Return Scheme and what it means for their business and will be well on the journey to finding the most appropriate solution for their business. All in one day.

Headline partner

Solutions partners