The Scottish Conservative party have organised a debate surrounding the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme, a Scottish Government initiative to reduce plastic waste. The scheme involves paying a 20p deposit on all drinks in single-use containers, which will be returned when the empty bottle or can is returned. The purpose of the scheme is to offer an incentive for returning plastic bottles and aluminium cans to shops where they can be reused, instead of sending them to landfill sites where they can take hundreds of years to break down. However, the Scottish Conservative Party, as well as the United Kingdom Government have serious concerns regarding the feasibility of the scheme’s implementation date of August 2023, arguing that waiting until a national roll-out would be more sensible.
The parliamentary motion, introduced by North East MSP Maurice Golden, emphasises Conservative support for a deposit return scheme in principle, arguing that it can “make a positive contribution to increasing the rate of recycling and reducing litter for drinks containers”. However, the motion noted that many businesses have raised concerns about how quickly the scheme is expected to be implemented across the country, which would require producers to register for the scheme by the end of March, and potentially introduce special barcodes for the purpose. The costs involved with the scheme have been highlighted by many small businesses as introducing further financial burdens in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which many businesses are still struggling to recover from.
Craft breweries in particular have emphasised their support for the scheme in principle, but have expressed concerns about the expense of adding new barcodes to their items, as well as fears that should they not do this, they may be barred from selling their product within Scotland at all. In addition, between the introduction of this scheme, and the implementation of similar schemes in England, these differing trade regulations have the potential to start yet another constitutional crisis, as they would disrupt the UK’s single market.
In a last-minute attempt to persuade small businesses of the viability of the August start date, Green MSP Lorna Slater announced £22 million would be provided to support small businesses. However, Golden argued that this proved the Scottish Government were aware of the deep flaws within the current scheme’s plans. He said that “Instead of this desperate bid to save face, Lorna Slater should swallow her pride and accept that the scheme should be paused at once for an independent review to address the numerous concerns of businesses”.
The Scottish Conservatives, along with all other parties in Holyrood, support the introduction of a deposit return scheme to help reduce unnecessary waste and encourage recycling. However, important questions remain which have so far gone unanswered by the Scottish Government. These cover information for businesses as to how they can effectively implement this scheme in only six months. As such, it would be better for the Scottish Government to wait to implement this scheme nationally alongside the UK government, to minimise confusion and make the cross-party plan a resounding success.