The Scottish government has delayed its deposit return scheme until at least October 2025 due to Westminster’s refusal to agree a full exclusion from the Internal Market Act.
The recycling scheme was supposed to launch in March 2024.
Scottish circular economy minister Lorna Slater said: “These delays and dilutions lie squarely in the hands of the UK Government that has sadly seemed so far more intent on sabotaging this parliament than protecting our environment.”
In the deposit return scheme, a deposit of 20p will be added to the cost of a drink in a single-use container. This will be returned when customers return the empty bottle or can to any takeaway restaurant or shop.
Larger stores, shopping centres will install reverse vending machines for customers to return their containers. The containers are then recycled to create new cans or bottles.
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Under the proposed return scheme, Scotland will treat goods and products differently to the rest of the UK. As such, it needs Westminster to grant an exclusion under the post-Brexit Internal Market Act, designed to regulate trade in different parts of the UK.
The UK government approved a partial exemption scheme last week but didn’t remove the exclusions for glass bottles. The delay could mean that the deposit return scheme in Scotland will launch at the same time as similar proposals for other parts of the UK.
Slater told BBC Radio Scotland that she is “very, very sceptical” about the scheme launching in time for October 2025 as the rest of the UK “haven’t even passed their regulations yet”.
Several retailers had initially called for Scotland to delay its launch until a UK-wide initiative is in place, with many claiming legal action against the Scottish government as they had already invested in reverse vending machines.
Mo Razzaq from the Federation of Independent Retailers said they are “trapped in contacts with reverse vending companies.
“We want compensated on this”, he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme. “We took this on because the Scottish government told us this was a requirement for business. We did exactly what they asked for, and now we’re the ones out of pocket.”
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack “welcomes” the delay to the scheme so that it starts at the same time as wider-UK initiatives and confirms “their commitment to interoperability.”
“Deposit return schemes need to be consistent across the whole of the UK, to provide a simple and effective system for businesses and consumers,” he added.
