And, Ms Slater has also announced a raft of changes to the country’s DRS, after it was delayed this week from August 2023 to March 2024.
In a statement yesterday (20 April) afternoon, Ms Slater unveiled that drinks under 100ml will be excluded, as will products that sell less than 5,000 units a year.
All hospitality outlets who sell the “large majority” of products for consumption on the premises, such as pubs and restaurants, will also automatically be exempt from acting as a return point.
The statement added that the online application process for retailers to apply for an exemption from providing a return point has been “simplified”.
It is hoped that the measures will make it easier for drinks producers and retailers to prepare for the scheme, “while making sure environmental benefits are still delivered”.
Delivery
Ms Slater said:“ [The] DRS needs to be delivered in a way that works for businesses, especially for small drinks producers. The changes I have set out will make the scheme easier for industry to deliver – especially for craft producers – while still making sure the vast majority of drinks containers are captured for recycling.”
She also called for the government to approve its exemption request from the Internal Markets Act, without which the scheme would not apply to products produced outside of Scotland, putting domestic producers at a disadvantage.
“To move forward with certainty, the UK Government must stop delaying the long overdue exclusion from the Internal Market Act. This damaging Act was imposed on the Scottish Parliament after Brexit without its consent and creates confusion and uncertainty for businesses,” Ms Slater added.
“After that Act was passed, we engaged in good faith, following the agreed process, and have done so for nearly two years now to agree an exclusion. The UK Government needs to at long last issue an exclusion, and recognise the right of the Scottish Parliament to enact legislation in devolved areas without interference.”
The UK government told letsrecycle.com last month that the DRS exemption request was received by the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 March 2023. The group brings together environment ministers from across the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).
Act
According to the Scottish government’s website, the Internal Market Act was created on the back of Brexit, replacing the EU law constraints that applied symmetrically across the UK until the UK exited the EU.
The Act, led by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, introduces a new market access regime, which means that goods sold in one part of the UK are automatically accepted across all other parts of the UK, regardless of the rules there, the website explained.
Small producers
Craft drinks producers and pubs that provide off-sales are among those that will benefit from the latest changes, the Scottish Government said.
The DRS was also softened in February as part of a £22 million package (see letsrecycle.com story).
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