Scotland’s bespoke DRS scheme which has been continually delayed needs formal approval from the UK government under the Internal Markets Act. However, there has been no indication that swift approval will be forthcoming.
‘Disastrous’
Just this week Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative Leader of the House of Commons described the Scottish DRS as ‘disastrous’ and ministers are known to be keen on having an all in UK system.
‘Proactive’
Ms Slater told a retail meeting yesterday (18 May) that the DRS scheme would need a “proactive decision” over whether it is viable if no approval is forthcoming from the Westminster government.
Her comments came as the Scottish Retail Consortium, part of the British Retail Consortium, warned that retailers might stop delivering drinks bottles which were subject to the DRS as they would struggle to collect and administer the empty bottles which they would have to collect from households making online orders.
With the SNP government under pressure on a number of fronts, it is thought that the party may have to give way and this would open the DRS scheme to becoming part of a pan-UK project. Scotland’s DRS scheme’s launch date has been pushed back to March 2024.
Organisation
Environment minister Rebecca Pow has said that the UK-wide scheme will launch in 2025 and that the current focus of attention is bring forward legislation beginning the appointment process for the Deposit Management Organisation, which will set the amount for the refundable deposit.
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