Rural and Environment

In the news: Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme

November 12, 2019 by johnfitzgerald No Comments | Category drs

You may have seen in the news today that the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform committee is taking evidence on Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said:

“We continue to make progress with plans to implement our ambitious Deposit Return Scheme as part of our response to the global climate emergency.

“A flat deposit keeps the system simple for consumers and our deposit rate is set to provide a strong incentive to return a wide range of containers.

“There is limited international evidence to suggest that consumer purchasing habits are likely to change significantly due to deposit return, and we are targeting a high return rate to minimise any potential effect.

“We remain fully committed to the inclusion of glass in our ambitious Deposit Return Scheme. We believe that DRS represents our best opportunity to deliver increases in glass recycling rates, cutting emissions and reducing littering.

“DRS will significantly increase the quantity and quality of recycled glass, a substantial proportion of which is projected to be clear glass which we know is in high demand. There is limited evidence from other schemes to suggest a widespread switch away from single-use glass to other materials.

“We are aware some businesses have concerns about the inclusion of glass and we are committed to working with them to implement the scheme in the best way possible.”

Background

The draft legislation to introduce the deposit return scheme is currently before Parliament for comment and the Scottish Government encourages anyone with an interest to offer their views through its ongoing consultation which ends on 10 December 2019.

Research by Zero Waste Scotland indicates strong public support for including glass in the scheme.

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