Local authority leaders have called on the Government to prioritise plans to reduce the amount of waste produced rather than focusing on schemes incentivising recycling.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) published their response to the consultation on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) on Friday, describing it as a ‘simple and effective system’ for encouraging recycling.

The new scheme will encourage people to deposit their single-use drinks containers in special recycling machines, known as reverse vending machines, or at designated sites in exchange for cash.

Every year UK consumers go through an estimated 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion drinks cans, many of which are littered or sent to landfill.

DRS, which will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is set to be introduced in 2025. It aims to ensure 85% fewer drinks containers are discarded as litter after three years of its launch.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow said: ‘We want to support people who want to do the right thing to help stop damaging plastics polluting our green spaces or floating in our oceans and rivers.

‘That is why we are moving ahead using our powers from our landmark Environment Act to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.

‘This will provide a simple and effective system across the country that helps people reduce litter and recycle more easily, even when on the move.’

Cllr David Renard, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA) said that councils would be pleased to see further details of how DRS will work, but added that they would need to understand better how the scheme will work alongside other planned waste reforms, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) which would see manufacturers pay for waste processing.

He also said that the Government should prioritise reducing the amount of waste produced.

‘DRS are another way of collecting waste, but it does not reduce the amount of packaging or require producers and retailers to reduce the amount of waste. We want to prioritise plans to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place,’ he said.

‘Ultimately the public will likely continue to rely on councils to collect the vast majority of their household waste, and so it is disappointing a digital DRS system will not be taken forward as a cheaper option in closer step with the current waste system.

‘Councils look forward to working with government and partners on wider waste reforms as a whole, focused on ensuring councils can respond to the needs of local communities in moving towards a circular and zero carbon economy.’