Among those supporting the delay is the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the Federation of Independent Retailers. Many also called on the UK government to “learn lessons” from the failed rollout of the DRS in the country.
Biffa, the schemes logistics partner, and Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator, have both expressed their disappointment.
Postponement
Lorna Slater, the country’s circular economy minister, announced yesterday (7 June) that the scheme will now go live in line with the rest of the UK in October 2025 “at the earliest” (see letsrecycle.com story).
The Scottish government blamed the latest delay on the UK government, which it said “imposed a number of highly significant conditions on the scheme, including the removal of glass and the requirement to align aspects of the scheme with schemes across the UK.”
Lorna Slater said: “These delays and dilutions lie squarely in the hands of UK Government that has sadly seemed so far more intent on sabotaging this parliament than protecting our environment.”
The scale of this delay is deeply disappointing
- Biffa spokesperson
‘Committed’
In a statement given to letsrecycle.com, Biffa said while it is “disappointed” by the decision, reiterated its commitment to the DRS in Scotland. THe company has already invested more than £60 million into Scotland’s DRS.
“The journey to Waste Net Zero, not just for Scotland but for the whole of the UK, is a huge opportunity to unlock investment in the UK circular economy, create high quality employment and secure much needed resources that will support sustainable manufacturing and consumption here in the UK, but it is critical that this is underpinned by legislation that can be relied upon,” the spokesperson said.
They added: “We have invested £65m in green infrastructure to support the scheme and were well prepared for it to go live in March 2024. The scale of this delay is therefore deeply disappointing but, ultimately, we remain ready and committed to delivering a Deposit Return Scheme that helps Scotland to achieve its Net Zero ambitions.”
Circularity Scotland’s chief executive David Harris issued a statement yesterday warning that the delay will “hinder Scotland’s progress towards net zero”.
Legislation
Many producers and retailers have been publicly lobbying against the proposals in recent months, claiming that the scheme will put them at a disadvantage if not rolled out in line with the rest of the UK.
A spokesperson from the FDF, which represents some of the largest food and drink manufacturers, said the UK government should learn from the mistakes of the Scottish DRS with all of its waste reforms, including consistency.
A spokesperson from the FDF said: “Our members made significant investments to support the launch of the Scottish scheme, and we will now need to assess the implications of the delay.
“Our businesses are working to stretching sustainability targets and take their responsibility to our natural environment very seriously, which is why we want to see a circular economy established rapidly, designed with industry and consumers at their heart. We hope governments across the UK will now take the time provided by this delay to go back to the drawing board on their waste reform proposals, to ensure that everything including consistent collections, DRS and EPR can be delivered successfully, learning the lessons from the collapse of the DRS scheme in Scotland.”
‘Mistakes’
The message of “learning from the mistakes” made by Scotland was also pushed by the Federation of Independent retailers.
Mo Razzaq, the organisation’s national deputy vice president, called on the developers of the scheme for Wales, England, Northern Ireland and now Scotland to avoid the mistakes made in Scotland but still progress as quickly as possible to meet the urgent need for less litter and less waste of the earth’s resources.”
He added: “As planning has not progressed well in Scotland, we can see the case for dropping the ambitious objective of including glass from the very beginning. Most other countries in Europe have phased in glass sometime after the launch of the core part of their return schemes.”
There are benefits to having more consistency across the UK when it comes to a DRS
- CIWM spokesperson
‘Not ideal’
The CIWM issued a statement saying it also supports the delay to the rollout of the scheme.
A spokesperson said: “CIWM appreciates that there are benefits to having more consistency across the UK when it comes to a DRS. In this respect, the announcement of a delay to the Scottish scheme to achieve greater alignment with the rest of the UK may bring some benefits.
“We appreciate, however, that plans in Scotland were well advanced and there has been a lot of investment in infrastructure and mobilisation which will be impacted by this development, and so it is not an ideal situation for the implementation of such a fundamental policy change within our sector. We also recognise that waste policy is a devolved matter and therefore may vary between nations.”
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