Discarded bottles in Glasgow | Credit: iStock
Thwarting Scottish bottle recycling scheme would deliver major blow to circular economy, campaigners warn UK government
Environmental charities have slammed the government's plans to block the roll out of Scotland's deposit return scheme (DRS), arguing further delays to the long-awaited scheme will have "serious negative consequences" for the creation of a more circular economy in the UK.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack is reportedly preparing to deny a request from the Scottish National Party for a trade exemption that would clear the path for the much-delayed recycling scheme's launch later this year.
First announced six years ago, the DRS would require retailers to add 20p to the price of single-use bottles and cans in Scotland, which customers can then reclaim by returning them to be recycled in supermarkets and other venues. Similar schemes designed to encourage recycling exist in dozens of countries and states around the world, including Ecuador, California, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and have been shown to deliver a significant increase in recycling rates.
However, plans to introduce a DRS in Scotland have been dogged by delays, as well as opposition from some businesses who have warned it would create a different system in Scotland to the rest of the UK.
Similar schemes are planned for the rest of the UK, but they have faced even longer delays are n ot expected to come into force until 2025. Moreover, the Westminster government controversially announced earlier this year that the rules for its scheme would differ from those in Scotland, as it would not cover glass bottles.
As such, some experts have argued that to go ahead as planned this summer, the Scottish government needs an exemption under the UK's Internal Markets Act 2020, which prevents different regulations applying to the same product in different parts of the UK.
Jack has made his opposition to the DRS well known, arguing in the House of Commons late last month that the scheme is "anti-business", "bad for stakeholders and consumers", and would increase the cost of living for Scots.
Some business leaders have also called for Scottish ministers to "delay, review and rethink" the scheme, which is currently set to go live on August 16.
But a coalition of 15 environmental groups this morning warned there will be "environmental, economic and legal implications" if the UK government blocks the roll out of the scheme.
"Any attempt to disrupt or undermine this would have serious negative consequences for schemes in the rest of the UK, and on broader circular economy ambitions," the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland wrote on Twitter. "The Scottish deposit return system has already been delayed for 867 days. Over that time, more than 2.1 billion drinks containers have been littered, landfilled, or incinerated. We can't afford to see deposit return trashed."
We, along with 14 other NGOs across the UK, wrote to the Secretary of State for Scotland to outline the environmental, economic, and legal implications of blocking Scotland's deposit return scheme. (1/5) https://t.co/1FmjzX1x0l
— APRS (@APRScotland) March 8, 2023
The Woodland Trust, WWF UK, Greenpeace UK, the Campaign for Protection of Rural England and Keep Britain Tidy have all backed the appeal for government to clear the way for the scheme's launch.
APRS said it was "questionable" whether an exemption is required to the Internal Markets Act in the first place, given the DRS regulations for the deposit return scheme pre-date the Act.
Meanwhile, Steve Hynd, policy manager at environmental charity City to Sea, said the issues with internal markets could have been avoided if Westminster politicians had delivered on their own plans to roll out a UK-wide.
"This would have seen an ambitious but unified approach across the UK," he said. "Instead, Westminster is at risk of dragging the devolved nations down to the lowest environmental standards as they sit on their hands and the plastic crisis worsens around them. It's to the Scottish government's credit that they have cracked on with their own deposit return scheme - one that will include glass bottles and was to be introduced this summer unlike the delayed scheme in England - something we know will save huge amounts of plastic as well as greenhouse gas emissions."
The office for the Scotland Secretary did not respond to a request for comment at the time of going to press.
The Scottish government has said producers responsible for more than 90 per cent of drinks containers sold in Scotland every year have now registered with Circularity Scotland, the body tasked with managing the DRS.
It remains unclear whether the plans will be maintained after Nicola Sturgeon officially steps down as SNP leader, with the candidates to replace her taking different approaches to the policy. Ash Regan has said she would scrap the scheme in its current form, while Kate Forbes has said it should be paused. Humza Yousaf pledged an exemption for small businesses for the first year of operation.
If Jack succeeds in convincing his Cabinet colleagues to not grant an exemption for the policy, it could mark the second major constitutional fight between Holyrood and Westminster this year, coming just months after the UK vetoed a Scottish law designed to make it easier for trans people to get legal recognition of their gender.
