Danone has today announced a collaboration between its evian® brand, The All England Lawn Tennis Club and Exchange for Change to pilot reverse vending machines (RVMs) at this year’s Championships Qualifying Competition, allowing spectators to experience how the UK Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will work in practice.
Bringing together the Official Water of The Championships, the event organisers and the UK’s DRS deposit management organisation, the pilot will test how RVMs operate in a live event setting ahead of the Scheme’s national rollout next year.
This year’s Championships Qualifying Competition takes place from Monday 22 June to Thursday 25 June at the Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Centre, Roehampton.
During the event, spectators can purchase evian® 75cl plastic bottles on-site, with a 20p deposit added at point of purchase, reflecting how the Scheme will operate when launched. Consumers can then return their empty bottle via one of two RVM collection points located across the site, ensuring the single-use packaging is captured and recycled.
All deposits collected through the pilot will be donated to the Wimbledon Foundation, supporting a range of local and national community projects.
In addition to boosting recycling rates at the event, the pilot will provide an opportunity to gather valuable insights, helping to shape the consumer experience ahead of the national rollout of the Scheme.
While this pilot focuses on single use plastic bottles and returns via RVMs, the UK DRS will apply to all single use PET plastic bottles and aluminium and steel drinks cans between 150ml to 3 litres. It will also facilitate other return options such as manual takeback – all with the aim of reducing litter and supporting a circular economy.
Hannah Cornick, Danone North Europe Sustainability and Social Impact Director, said:
“As Danone celebrates the bicentenary of its iconic evian® brand, we continue to focus on offering healthy hydration in the most sustainable way. Circularity is a core commitment of our Impact Journey strategy, and we are proud to support The All England Lawn Tennis Club and Exchange for Change in delivering this first-of-its-kind pilot ahead of the UK Deposit Return Scheme’s national rollout next year.
This initiative allows us to gather tangible feedback to support retailers and Exchange for Change in preparing for DRS, while demonstrating how circular systems can work effectively in practice.”
Hattie Park, Senior Sustainability Manager at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, said:
“At Wimbledon, we are always looking for thoughtful ways to build on our traditions while taking practical steps towards a more sustainable future. We're delighted to be part of this important pilot together with our long-standing Official Partner, evian. This initiative gives guests at The Championships Qualifying Competition an early experience of reverse vending machines as well as offering valuable insights to support the national rollout of the scheme. Deposits donated by guests through the machine will support our charity, the Wimbledon Foundation, and we are very grateful to everyone taking part in this initiative.”
Kate McFerran, Corporate Affairs Director at Exchange for Change, said:
“We are excited to see this pilot go live at such an iconic event. The Deposit Return Scheme is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a significant and long-lasting shift in the UK’s recycling behaviour. The insights gained from this pilot, as well as others taking place over the coming months, will help ensure the Scheme is designed to be as efficient and consumer friendly as possible so we can all play our part in removing litter from our environment and building a stronger circular economy.”
As the Official Water of The Championships since 2008, evian and Wimbledon have a history of working together on a shared sustainability journey. This RVM pilot builds on recent initiatives at The Championships, including refillable hydration stations for spectators and players and reusable bottle formats. In 2025, approximately 40,000 refills were dispensed during the Championships[1] and 54% of spectator survey respondents who took part in the Scheme continued to refill their bottles at home[2]. Partnerships like this demonstrate how collaborations across brands and venues can support wider sustainability goals and evolve in ways that are practical, visible and relevant to changing consumer expectations.
Notes to editors
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