A South Lanarkshire retailer has raised £6,908 in a self-funded Deposit Return Scheme trial, with more than £4,600 donated to local charities and over £2,000 redeemed by customers in-store.

Mo Razzaq, owner of Premier Mo’s in Blantyre, launched the initiative in November to demonstrate the potential benefits of the scheme, ahead of the DRS rollout across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland in October 2027.

Under the incoming scheme, consumers will pay a small deposit on drinks containers made from PET plastic, steel or aluminium, ranging in size from 150ml to three litres. The deposit will be refunded when the container is returned for recycling.

Speaking to Better Retailing, Razzaq said he introduced the trial to help address confusion and scepticism around the DRS among retailers and the wider public.

He said: “There’s so much negativity by the press and retailers that I was concerned about the fact it’s coming up in two years’ time and I wanted to show the positive side of DRS.

“A lot of retailers think this won’t go ahead, which is wrong. It’s going ahead. The DMO is organised, everybody is starting to get organised. The manufacturers know this is going to happen, and that’s my concern — that we’re sleepwalking into a big issue.”

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How did the DRS trial work in Mo Razzaq’s store?

His store absorbed the cost of the trial, with no additional charge added to drinks containers. Customers received 10p for each returned container — whether soft drink or alcohol — using a reverse vending machine installed in-store.

The machine, fitted with a conveyor belt, crushes each item and issues a voucher, which can be redeemed in-store or donated to one of four local community groups.

Razzaq warned that retailers could lose footfall if they fail to prepare. “If you don’t have [a machine], your customers will return cans and bottles elsewhere — and they’ll go elsewhere,” he said.

Among the beneficiaries were the Blantyre Miners ABC boxing club, which received £632, and a local football team, which raised £2,606 through the initiative.

“For a local community, the biggest problem just now is obtaining funding,” Razzaq added. “Everybody’s struggling to get funds for local groups. The charity button on the trial showed us how easy it is for people to donate.

“You get what you put into it; if you put some effort in, you’ll get a lot more; if you don’t put the effort in, you’ll get a lot less. That’s how they’ll need to do it when the DRS kicks in.”

Read more: Supermarkets and drinks giants launch group to run UK’s deposit return scheme