Beverage companies operating in the UK are bracing themselves for differing conditions around the pending 'Deposit Return Scheme', with two of the country's four nations opting not to include glass bottles. One year on from the launch of a consultation exercise for the DRS, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed yesterday that England and Northern Ireland will not include glass as a recyclable material. The move follows Wales' decision to pursue an "all-in DRS", while Scotland is also set to include glass bottles. "Glass drinks bottles [in England & Northern Ireland] will be in the scope of 'Extended Producer Responsibility', which will place targets on producers in relation to glass recycling and require them to pay for the cost of managing glass packaging generated by households," DEFRA said. "Northern Ireland will keep under review the inclusion of glass once the DRS is fully operational to ensure glass drinks containers are meeting the required recycling targets." Following the announcement, the UK's Wine & Spirit Trade Association welcomed the concession but flagged concerns about the absence of consistency across the UK. “Currently, it looks very likely that the UK will see the introduction of three different DRS systems, each requiring different labels, stock separation and far greater administration," said CEO Miles Beale. "This will inevitably mean increased costs for producers and consumers and potentially reduced consumer choice.” The consultation response, which can be viewed here, set the date for the introduction of the scheme's first stage in England and Wales as 2024, a year later than initially proposed in order to "simplify and de-risk delivery". Scotland will kick off its DRS in July next year. The Just Drinks analyst - The Russian damage to brand owners, the end of globalisation and the ongoing margin pummelling