To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for his assessment on the merits of introducing a deposit return scheme for single-use drinks bottles.

Minister Poots committed back in February 2020 to Northern Ireland’s continued participation in the development of UK-wide proposals to reform the Packaging Producer Responsibility system and the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme. We plan to consult on these schemes this year. A Deposit Return Scheme can increase recycling and recyclability of single use drinks containers significantly. It could also result in a substantial reduction in the amount of littering in Northern Ireland.