Scotland’s deposit return scheme delayed for another year

The scheme will miss a July 2022 deadline and is now due to launch in August 2023.

Circular economy minister Lorna Slater updated MSPs (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

The launch of Scotland’s deposit return scheme has been delayed for another year and is now set to begin in August 2023.

Circular economy minister Lorna Slater said she had taken personal responsibility for bringing the scheme back on track as she updated MSPs on Tuesday.

The coronavirus pandemic delayed the launch of the scheme to July 2022, however last month a statement from the Scottish Green minister put that deadline in doubt.

Ms Slater says the scheme will be among the most ambitious in Europe and a public awareness campaign is due to begin next summer.

A 20p deposit would be added to drinks bottles (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

When implemented, it would see shoppers pay a 20p deposit when buying drinks in cans and bottles, with the money returned to them when they return the empty containers for recycling.

Campaigners who have been calling for the scheme say it has now been “essentially scuttled” by lobbying from industry.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday evening, Ms Slater said an independent review had concluded that the July 2022 deadline was not achievable.

The minister said there were problems with establishing a governance structure, reaching a decision with the UK Government on VAT charges and the treatment of products bought online.

Ms Slater said she had “worked intensively to put the DRS (deposit return scheme) back on track”, describing it as a “massive national undertaking”.

Announcing the new launch date of 16 August, 2023, she said: “Our DRS will be among the most environmentally ambitious and accessible in Europe, including tens of thousands of return points for plastic, metal and glass containers as well as pick up points for online deliveries.”

Ms Slater continued: “Despite the delay, I can also confirm that producers will be required to meet a 90% collection target by the second year of operation rather than the third as previously planned.”

The Scottish Government plans for the scheme to be administered by a non-profit company called Circularity Scotland

Maurice Golden questioned the minister (Andew Milligan/PA) (PA Archive)

Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden asked if the minister would “stake her professional reputation” on the new launch date.

He said: “We now have yet another launch date, but frankly how can we take this seriously?

“Only a month ago the minister was refusing to give a launch date after delaying the scheme for a second time.

“This was despite Circularity Scotland issuing a tender last month with a launch date of summer 2023.

“The minister has either lost control of the process or deliberately misled Parliament on the launch date in her previous statement.”

Ms Slater said the Tories had argued for a delay in the scheme in 2020.

This is a sad day for Scotland's environment

John Mayhew

John Mayhew, director of the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, said the delay would lead to millions more items being littered around the countryside.

He said: “This is a sad day for Scotland’s environment.

“The Scottish Government’s flagship waste reduction programme lies essentially scuttled beneath the waves, sunk by a combination of intense industry lobbying and a lack of political will.

“Across Europe, countries without deposit return are moving ahead quickly with this simple measure, looking over their shoulder at Scotland as a cautionary tale, a world leader in delay, not delivery.”

Mr Mayhew added: “Lessons will need to be learned across government: every other part of the waste and climate agenda is going to be much more difficult to implement than deposit return.”