Scottish ministers poised to back down in recycling row with Westminster

Lorna Slater said the UK ultimatum meant tens of millions of glass bottles in Scotland would now not be recycled. Photograph: Park Dale/Alamy

Scottish ministers are poised to accept a UK government ultimatum over a controversial can and bottle recycling scheme after ministers in London said it had to be watered down significantly.

Lorna Slater, the minister overseeing a Scottish scheme to charge a 20p deposit for bottles and cans, accused her UK counterparts of “deliberate sabotage” after they demanded that Scotland drop plans to include glass bottles.