The figure was revealed in a ‘statement of affairs’ published by the administrator, Interpath Advisory, on Friday (28 July).
Biffa Waste Services is owed the bulk of this, with the document showing the company is owed £65 million. Others owed money include Reverse Logistics, which is owed £5 million and HMRC, which is owed £38,000.
A spokesperson for Biffa said: “We continue to review our position and have no further comment at this time.”
Employees are also owed more than £1.1 million, just £50,000 of which is a ‘preferential debt’, which means they have a right to be paid before others.
Around £5 million of the debt is also owed to producers who had “pre-paid” for services. This includes more than £2.2 million from the British Soft Drinks Association and nearly £450,00 from each of AB InBev, Heineken and Tennent.
DRS
Circularity Scotland, which was industry led and funded, was set up to be the scheme administrator for the DRS in Scotland, but after the latest delay saw the scheme pushed back from March 2024 to October 2025, in line with the rest of the UK, question marks were raised over its future last month (see letsrecycle.com story).
Producer groups shortly after then announced that they would no longer fund the scheme, which led the company to face serious questions about its future. Lorna Slater, the circular economy minister, had hinted that the UK government may want to utilise Circularity Scotland’s expertise, but this did not formalise.
The Scottish government blamed the UK government for not allowing the scheme to progress with glass included, while the former chief executive of Circularity Scotland, has blamed the Scottish Government, saying the scheme could have progressed with glass.
The administrators were formally called in on 20 June (see letsrecycle.com story).
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