Industry bodies welcome two-year delay to 'simply unworkable' DRS

The delay to Scotland’s controversial deposit return scheme (DRS) until at least October 2025 has been welcomed with "relief" by industry bodies.

Addressing Holyrood this afternoon (7 June), circular economy minister Lorna Slater said that she had “no other option” but to delay the scheme.

UKHospitality Scotland executive director Leon Thompson said: “Hospitality businesses across Scotland will be breathing a huge sigh of relief hearing this news and I’m delighted that the concerns raised by UKHospitality Scotland have been heard loud and clear.

“The Deposit Return Scheme, even before recent UK Government interventions, was not ready to launch in March and businesses had made that clear to the Scottish Government. Evidently, those interventions have made the prospect of launch impossible.”

In a statement released today, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said it welcomed the delay to the "simply unworkable” scheme. It added both the Scottish and UK Governments should take this time “to review the fundamental flaws and challenges that would have severely disadvantaged Scotland's small businesses”.

Slater cited the main reason for the delay surrounded the exclusion of glass from the scheme, an exclusion the UK government requested last week after it agreed to Scotland’s temporary exemption from the Internal Market Act. She also added that after an “intense” period of consultation with businesses, the “overwhelming feedback” was that they could not prepare for a March launch of the scheme.

This is the third time the DRS has been delayed. It was designed to improve recycling rates in Scotland by adding a 20p deposit to the cost of every single-use drinks container, including those made from PET plastic, aluminium or steel. Customers would be able to reclaim their 20p by bringing the empty container to a return point, either over the counter in certain venues or using an automated reverse vending machine.

However, the scheme has been fraught with difficulties from the beginning, with many industry bodies and hospitality operators voicing fear and frustration, citing implementation, cost, and storage of recyclable goods as just some of the hurdles they would have to overcome.

Thomson said that while businesses are not against a recycling scheme, a new recycling scheme cannot be “another piece of red-tape that is costly and burdensome” and that now is the time to engage businesses to work on a scheme that can achieve environmental and sustainability ambitions.

The NTIA said it will continue to engage with both the Scottish and UK governments to ensure a recycling programme that can be implemented across the four nations.

In concluding her address, Slater said Holyrood “voted for a deposit return scheme. I am committed to a deposit return scheme. Scotland will have a deposit return scheme”.