Shelves of Irn-Bru in an Asda store in Livingston, Scotland (picture: shutterstock)
Businesses in Scotland have called for more consultation in the wake of confirmation that the Scottish Government’s intends to implement a deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers across Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, announced the measures as part of the Climate Change Bill within the Scottish Government’s forthcoming legislative programme yesterday, (5 September). Under DRS, consumers would pay a deposit that would be refunded once the empty bottle was returned to the shop.
The announcement was made as the First Minister unveiled her legislative programme to the Scottish Parliament, saying that her ministers “will do more to support the circular economy and reduce waste”.
“I can confirm today that we will design and introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, as an important part of our determination to tackle litter and clean up our streets,” Ms Sturgeon added.
Pre-emptive
In response to Ms Sturgeon’s announcement today, two Scottish business associations today said the DRS was ‘pre-emptive’ and needed more consultation.
The Scottish chambers of commerce said: “Finally on the circular economy, we would like to see more consultation with business on the proposals to design and introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, to ensure that the scheme can be effective in achieving its aims without imposing extra costs on businesses and consumers. We would hope that no scheme will be implemented without the full buy-in of retailers.”
And the Scottish Retail Consortium explained that they were ‘disappointed’ to see the Scottish Government pre-empt its own modelling work and commit to bringing in a deposit return system.
The consortium said: “Whilst superficially appealing, the reality is deposit return vending will hit customers with an upfront charge pushing up the cost of living; whilst also potentially costing retailers £41 million in implementation costs. This is a costly measure which will do little to increase recycling, and will make developing an efficient circular economy more difficult.”
Strategic
David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of Suez recycling and recovery UK, said: “We are delighted that the Scottish government is showing national leadership with plans for deposit scheme for plastic bottles. It shows encouraging and progressive leadership in reducing waste and litter.
“Suez backs UK wide bottle return schemes – it makes not just environmental sense but, importantly, economic sense too”
David Palmer-Jones
Suez resource UK
“Suez backs UK wide bottle return schemes – it makes not just environmental sense but, importantly, economic sense too – putting pounds in the pockets of both households and business through reduced waste disposal costs and reduced need to buy virgin raw materials.”
Mr Palmer-Jones continued: “This really is a win-win solution for the environment, manufacturers and ordinary households who are ready to help bring about change.”
However, while the Suez chief said that he was “delighted” to see the Scottish government showing national leadership with the DRS, he felt that this scheme should be “part of a more strategically planned, integrated application of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime across all forms of resource usage, materials and packaging production and their collection, reuse and recycling across the supply chain.”
Zero Waste Scotland
Commissioned by the Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland published detailed responses to the consultation on the feasibility of a return scheme in December 2016.
Within the consultation document, reference is made to the materials which could be covered by the term “drinks containers” with the document referencing “plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans” in the modelling assumptions made.
The consultation included 63 responses from businesses including Irn Bru and Asda that responded negatively to the proposals (see letsrecyle.com story).
ASDA said that the DRS would be a “regressive step that would penalise people on low incomes and cause serious inconvenience for shoppers” and Irn Bru said the scheme could be subject to fraud.”
And the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland – representing businesses like Irn Bru and Diageo – has said that it will cost councils, consumers and businesses.
Local authorities
Scottish local authorities are expected to support the plans for the Climate Change Act but are likely to scrutinise the extent of their involvement with the DRS and its impact on their own activities.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
