Scotland’s retailers can learn valuable lessons from Ireland as they prepare for the Deposit Return Scheme, says Stewart Vincent, Managing Director, RVM Systems UK.
The UK’s Deposit Return Scheme goes live in October 2027, and Scottish retailers are now making real decisions about space, siting and supplier choice. The good news is that these decisions can be informed by another market. Ireland has been running its own deposit return scheme long enough to show what happens once the machines are switched on.
Since Ireland’s scheme launched in February 2024, the national recycling rate for in-scope containers has climbed from 49% to over 90%, with more than 3 billion cans and bottles returned so far. Litter linked to these containers has fallen by 55%. These are not small numbers, and they were achieved inside two years, not a decade.
What the Irish data consistently shows is that participation builds quickly once return points are genuinely convenient. Retailers who treated their machines as a core part of the shop floor, not an afterthought at the back door, saw steadier throughput and fewer operational headaches. Those who under-specified capacity for their footfall found themselves emptying bins more often than expected, particularly at busier sites, impacting operations and RVM availability.
None of this means every UK store will see identical results. Shopping habits, store formats and local competition all vary, and Scotland’s retail mix is not a copy of Dublin’s. But the direction of travel has been consistent: participation grows, litter falls, and a scheme that looks daunting on paper settles into normal daily operations faster than retailers expect.
Scottish retailers now have more flexibility than they did earlier this year, after Exchange for Change widened its exemption criteria for smaller stores. But exemption and opportunity are not the same thing. A return point brings people through the door regularly, and retailers who treat that as a chance to build footfall, rather than a box to tick, are best placed to benefit as the scheme beds in. The sensible next step is talking to suppliers with genuine live-market experience before deciding.
RVM Systems has supported retailers through DRS launches in more than 40 markets over 30-years and is applying that experience directly to the Scottish rollout.
