Scottish Parliament passed Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme regulations

The Scottish Parliament voted to approve Regulations for the establishment of Scotland’s Deposit Scheme. This would increase the recycling of single-use drinks containers in Scotland. The scheme will come into effect from 1 July 2022.

The Scottish government last year announced a new Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) that will include aluminium and steel cans, and drink containers made of glass and PET plastic. The government said all shops selling drinks will offer 20p deposit refunds to customers.

The Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA), the trade association for Scotland’s food and drink wholesale businesses, had called for a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Colin Smith, SWA chief executive, said: “Scotland’s food and drink wholesalers will be bitterly disappointed that the DRS regulations have been passed by Parliament rather than being halted and revisited after Covid-19 disruption has dissipated.

“This is meant to be an evidence-based policy but the evidence on which it is built – container numbers, return points, queueing spaces, online food shopping – will have fundamentally changed as business exits Covid-19.

“Wholesalers and others in food and drink are already under intense pressure with some businesses fighting for their very survival – there will be no time or money to spend trying to assist the Scottish Government or a still-to-be formed Scheme Administrator to set up the DRS.”