After being awarded the deal in 2022 to provide logistics, sorting and counting services for the Scottish DRS, Biffa said around £80 million would be “deployed by August 2023” (see letsrecycle.com story).
The waste management company has since unveiled multi-million pound plans for counting and baling plants in Aberdeen, Kelso and Motherwell, with facilities planned across the country.
After the announcement this week of a delay from August 2023 to March 2024, a Biffa spokesperson told letsrecycle.com: “As the logistics provider for the Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland, we remain fully committed to helping to deliver a scheme that works for Scotland and will be working closely with our stakeholders to ensure its success in line with the new time frames.”
Delay
The latest delay to the DRS was announced by the new Scottish first minister Humza Yusuf on Tuesday (18 April). The Scottish DRS has already been delayed from the original go live date of July 2022.
The country needs approval from the UK government for an exemption from the Internal Markets Act. Westminster has been clear that they favour a UK-wide rollout.
There have been indications that the UK government might not look kindly on the request for an exemption (see letsrecycle.com story).
Last month, the then first minister Nicola Sturgeon, wrote to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seeking his support to have the scheme exempt, warning that Biffa has already invested £80 million into the scheme.
UK-wide
The March 2024 date will still be around 18 months before the rest of the UK if this deadline is met. A DRS for beverage containers is pencilled in for England, Northern Ireland and Wales by October 2025.
There is a long way to go before the deadline is met for the rest of the UK, too. A general election will take place in the meantime, and a deposit management organisation still has to be set up, which will likely consist of producers.
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