In his first key Holyrood speech, First Minister (FM) Humza Yousaf announced the Scottish deposit return scheme has been delayed until 1 March 2024.
Yousaf announced the delay to Scotland’s DRS as he set out his priorities for government over the next three years. Following the speech, Green MSP Ross Greer said this was “Westminster’s delay” and was critical of the scheme potentially being denied an exemption to the UK’s Internal Market Act.
In the speech to Holyrood, Yousaf said: “I remain committed to this scheme as a way to increase recycling, to reduce litter on our streets and beaches, and help achieve our net zero ambitions. But we recognise the uncertainty that continues to be created as a result, of course, of the UK government delaying the decision to exclude the scheme from the Internal Market Act.
“Of course, we had hoped for a decision on that this week but it has not come. At the same time, I and the Circular Economy Minister have heard the concerns of business, particularly about the scheme’s readiness for launch this August, and as a result, we will now delay the launch of the scheme to 1 March 2024.”
I and the Circular Economy Minister have heard the concerns of business, particularly about the scheme’s readiness for launch this August.
The FM’s announcement was met with both jeers and applause. Yousaf went on to say the Scottish government will use the additional ten months before the DRS’s launch to work with business and Circularity Scotland to address concerns with the scheme.
He continued that the Scottish government has developed a package of measures to “simplify and de-risk” the scheme and to support small businesses and hospitality. Yousaf concluded by saying the Circular Economy Minister, Lorna Slater, will provide further details on the package later this week.
The DRS will require consumers to pay an additional fee of 20p when buying canned or bottled beverages, which they can then receive a refund on when they return the used container for recycling to a designated return point.
Reactions to the announcement
Commenting on the delay, Lee Marshall, Policy and External Affairs Director, CIWM, said: “CIWM is disappointed to hear that the Scottish DRS will be delayed for a further 10 months but understands the reasons why this has to be so.
“The effect of the DRS on small Scottish businesses needs to be carefully considered to ensure that they are not disproportionately affected. Implementing a DRS is a huge logistical operation to get off the ground and mobilisation was always going to be a challenge.
“A delay until March 2024 should provide Circularity Scotland with enough time to ensure a smooth rollout. CIWM and its Scottish membership stand ready to help the Scottish government in any way it can to shape the DRS so that it can have the desired effects of reducing litter and increasing the quality of recycling in Scotland.”
When we don’t have the infrastructure in place to recycle the waste we currently collect we must ask has DRS missed its original boat.
Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder, A Plastic Planet & PlasticFree, commented: “Scotland’s achievements include penicillin, the telephone and fingerprinting. That the same country should struggle so much over introducing a small, refundable charge for drinks containers is disappointing, to say the least. At this rate, England may even get ahead.
“DRSs are used successfully all over Europe, and encourage people to think of their containers as something that lives on beyond their own consumption. Increasingly, we should be seeing permanent packaging in all kinds of areas from meat and vegetables to shampoo and conditioner.
“By the time we actually introduce DRS in the UK at large, brands and retailers will have leapfrogged to even simpler systems of pre-filled reusable standardised packaging. When we don’t have the infrastructure in place to recycle the waste we currently collect we must ask has DRS missed its original boat.”
As it stands, Westminster has plans for a less ambitious DRS than Scotland that isn’t universal and doesn’t incentivise refill and reuse.
City to Sea’s Policy Manager, Steve Hynd, expressed his disappointment but said that this was a “perfect chance for Westminster to finally catch up” and match Scottish levels of ambition.
He said: “This disappointing delay in Scotland is also a perfect opportunity for Westminster. They could, right now, pledge to match Scottish levels of ambition in accepting glass – as their own consultation encouraged them to – and to match the new Scottish timetable.
“DRSs work best when they are simple, universal in accepting all materials and sizes of containers and work to actively encourage refill and reuse and not just recycling. As it stands, Westminster has plans for a less ambitious DRS than Scotland that isn’t universal and doesn’t incentivise refill and reuse.”
A controversial scheme
Only last month (March), Scotland’s DRS administrator, Circularity Scotland, said the scheme was still on course for its planned August launch. Circularity Scotland also announced that by midnight on 28 February, producers responsible for more than 2 billion recyclable drinks containers had registered for the scheme, which represented over 95% of the total volume of products sold in Scotland each year.
In March, The Resource Management Association Scotland (RMAS) criticised the decision to award the Scottish government’s DRS contract to Biffa, saying it will lead to job losses across its sector and increase CO2 emissions.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has also told MPs in the environment, food and rural affairs (EFRA) committee the “best outcome” for deposit return scheme (DRS) policy would be one scheme aligned across UK nations.
