Radnor Hills founder and CEO William Watkins has been elected as the new President of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA).

Kicking off his tenure, Mr Watkins called on the Welsh Government to help unlock the way for an interoperable Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to support recycling.

Mr Watkins was appointed at the trade body’s AGM and took over from Paul Graham, GB Managing Director at Britvic, who, in his time as President, led the BSDA in its role as a founder-member of Circularity Scotland Ltd, a scheme administrator for Scotland’s since-delayed deposit return scheme.

Mr Watkins said: “I am delighted to be elected as the new President of this important organisation.

“It is such a crucial time for the industry as we head towards setting up a Deposit Return Scheme, along with retailers and alcohol producers, to deliver a realistic and practical system to return and recycle our containers in a more sustainable way.

“The go-live date for DRS across the UK has been pushed back to October 2027. As it stands, the Welsh Government continues to be an outlier in calling for the inclusion of glass within scope of its DRS.

“I am calling on the Welsh Government to reconsider its approach to help unlock the way to an interoperable DRS that benefits the environment, consumers and industry alike.”