Exchange for Change, which is already running DRS administration in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, was the only applicant to oversee operational design and delivery of the Welsh scheme. Its bid was rejected weeks before the Senedd was dissolved ahead of the 7 May elections, meaning no administrator can be confirmed until after the next government takes office. The Welsh government has reopened the process, with the new application window closing on 2 June.

Wales' scheme differs from those elsewhere in the UK by including glass drink containers, adding complexity to scheme design and delivery. The ACS said the failure to make progress was "extremely concerning", particularly given that the Welsh scheme is more complex and costly than those coming into force in the rest of the UK.

Sanderson joined The Recycling Association in 2023, succeeding Simon Ellin. He was previously managing director of market intelligence at Hanicke Robins Sanderson and editor of trade title MRW, and has worked in the recycling sector since 2004.

Sanderson said he was "proud to have guided our members through a very turbulent time where regulation and legislation has been heaped on them."

BIR argues that the sliding scale uses a scrap-adjusted approach that allows installations using less recycled steel to qualify as green despite higher CO2 emissions. The federation says this creates a perverse incentive structure that rewards carbon-intensive production and penalises steelmakers using more recycled material.

Steel production accounts for roughly eight per cent of global energy sector emissions and 30 per cent of industrial emissions. BIR is calling for green steel classifications based on actual, verifiable carbon intensity rather than adjustment factors, and for separate recognition of primary and secondary steelmaking routes.

The Welsh Senedd approved DRS legislation in March 2026, with the scheme due to launch in October 2027 alongside the rest of the UK. A first market engagement on return handling fees has been completed, and a second consultation is expected to launch after Easter.

Exchange for Change said it was "continuing to engage closely with the Welsh Government" following its application. The Welsh scheme is intended to be interoperable with the DRS operating in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Environment Agency said 16 containers of contaminated plastic, containing electrical components, wiring and circuit boards, were shipped to Malaysia between April 2022 and February 2025. Director Yulin Wang was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £15,114 in costs, while the company was fined £80,000 with £47,000 in costs and surcharges.