The organisation which will run the planned Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was not informed in advance of the First Minister’s decision to delay it.
Donald McCalman, programme director for Circularity Scotland, said the delay came because not enough firms are ready to deliver the “fantastic consumer experience” needed.
On Tuesday, Humza Yousaf delayed the introduction of the DRS from the middle of August this year to the beginning of March next year.
He acknowledged the scheme had led to concern among many in the business community and said the UK Government’s decision not to grant an exemption under the Internal Market Act had caused uncertainty.
The DRS will mean customers pay a 20p deposit on drinks in cans and bottles which will be paid back when the containers are returned.
On Thursday, McCalman spoke to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme. Asked when he found out about the delay, he said it was “the same time as everybody else” on Tuesday.
Circularity Scotland is a not-for-profit company set up to administer the scheme and will be responsible for its smooth operation, with Biffa handling logistics.
McCalman stressed the importance of consumers having a simple experience when the DRS launches, saying: “As far as I can understand from what the First Minister has said on Tuesday, not enough organisations are going to be ready to have that fantastic consumer experience.
“Some of that possibly caused by, as he said, some of the uncertainties that still exist.
“Uncertainty causes some businesses to say ‘you know what, maybe I need to start thinking differently about how I’m deploying my resources’.
“That’s entirely up to those organisations to take that view.”
Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater announced a range of measures to make it easier for drinks producers and retailers to prepare for the scheme.
The changes announced are:
- drinks containers of under 100ml will be excluded, removing miniatures and other smaller containers from the scheme;
- products that sell fewer than 5,000 units per year will be excluded, which will particularly benefit craft producers;
- all hospitality premises that sell the large majority of their drinks products for consumption on the premises will be exempt from acting as a return point; and
- the online application process for retailers to apply for an exemption from providing a return point has been simplified.
Slater said: “Scotland’s deposit return scheme will reduce litter on our streets, massively increase the recycling of drinks containers and help meet our net zero ambitions.
“However, to realise these benefits DRS needs to be delivered in a way that works for businesses, especially for small drinks producers.
“The changes I have set out will make the scheme easier for industry to deliver - especially for craft producers - while still making sure the vast majority of drinks containers are captured for recycling.
“To move forward with certainty, the UK Government must stop delaying the long overdue exclusion from the Internal Market Act,“ she continued, adding: “This damaging Act was imposed on the Scottish Parliament after Brexit without its consent and creates confusion and uncertainty for businesses.
“After that Act was passed, we engaged in good faith, following the agreed process, and have done so for nearly two years now to agree an exclusion – the UK Government needs to at long last issue an exclusion, and recognise the right of the Scottish Parliament to enact legislation in devolved areas without interference.”
There has been some argument around the request for the exemption to the Internal Market Act, with the UK Government claiming no such request has been made while the Scottish Government asserts it had been asked for by former deputy first minister John Swinney.
Slater said on Thursday she would write again to the UK Government with the request, believing the exemption would be given.
A spokesman for the UK Government said: “Ministers only received the formal request for an Act exclusion for the Scottish Government’s deposit return scheme on 6 March 2023.
“The Scottish Government has since been reviewing and has now paused the scheme, so it has not been possible for us to fully assess the impacts of the exclusion request on cross-UK trade, businesses and consumers.
“We will continue to engage with the Scottish Government to understand the outcomes of their review and will work together to realise our shared ambition to improve the environment while meeting the needs of consumers and businesses across the UK.”
The DRS changes are now subject to approval of the Scottish Parliament.
The current deposit return scheme regulations include all drinks from 50ml to three litres and place no lower limit on the volume of sales to qualify for the scheme.
Introducing a threshold of 5,000 units per year should remove many craft drinks and limited edition products. It is anticipated that this change will only remove around 0.5% of articles from the scheme, but will remove the need for around 44% of businesses to apply a deposit to their products.
The Scottish Government stated that it will engage with hospitality businesses on the proportion of sales at which the hospitality measures will apply, to ensure a balance between support for businesses and accessibility for consumers.
Drinks producers will now have until 12 January 2024 to register for the scheme.
SNP MSP Fergus Ewing, who has been a frequent critic of the DRS, predicted the scheme would be delayed further, and urged the government to align the Scottish initiative with similar plans expected to come from the UK Government.
Responding, Slater said: “I often forget Fergus Ewing is not a member of the Conservative Party.”
Scottish Conservative environment spokesman Maurice Golden said Slater had “made such an almighty mess of this scheme that she has now had to effectively re-write it”.
Scottish Labour environment spokeswoman Sarah Boyack said Slater is “out of touch” and should not be left in charge of the scheme.
Federation of Small Business’ Scotland policy chair Andrew McRae commented: “We’ve seen the Minister take steps in the right direction today – some smaller operators will be pleased to see exemptions for low sales volumes, and for small containers - like whisky miniatures - that are often taken out of Scotland.
“However, it therefore remains essential that a wholesale review of the scheme is undertaken at the earliest possible opportunity and involving the broadest range of businesses.
“There are still serious questions about the scheme’s fundamental design and implications – and we’ve seen what happens when the concerns of the very small businesses the government’s relying on to deliver this scheme aren’t addressed. ”
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