Deposit return
Scheme
1. Donald Cameron
(Highlands and Islands) (Con)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update
on the Deposit return scheme.
(S6O-01924)
The Minister for Green
Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity ()
Circularity Scotland is now at an advanced stage of building the
infrastructure and logistics network that will underpin the
scheme. Sites have been secured across Scotland to handle and
process material. Counting equipment and vehicle fleets are
arriving. Recruitment is under way to create 500 new jobs in
Scotland in processing and logistics.
Likewise, businesses of all sizes are continuing to make good
progress as they prepare for launch in August this year. The
Deposit return scheme is a
transformational step change on our road to net zero, and
businesses here in Scotland have the necessary momentum to get us
there.
Donald
Cameron
Small producers in the Highlands and Islands, especially craft
brewers, including Fyne Ales and Glen Spean Brewing, are deeply
concerned about the many unanswered questions that remain about
the DRS, including how the contractor, Biffa, will collect
materials from rural and remote locations that are hard to reach.
Given those legitimate concerns, why will the minister not pause
the introduction of the DRS until those matters have been fully
resolved or, at the very least, grant smaller producers a grace
period before joining the scheme?
I take the concerns of small producers seriously, and, this week,
Circularity Scotland announced a package of measures to
specifically answer some of the concerns that have been raised by
small producers in terms of cash flow and labelling.
The process of organisation and logistics is a matter of
co-design between businesses and Biffa, the logistics partner, to
ensure that the system works for everybody, and that will
continue. This afternoon, I will meet small producers to find out
what else we can do to support them.
Fiona Hyslop (Linlithgow)
(SNP)
Although I welcome recent changes on fees for small drinks
producers and other improvements to the planned roll-out of the
DRS, some businesses in my constituency are still concerned about
implementation at a time of other serious economic pressures, and
have practical concerns about storage space and cost pressures.
Although the aims of the DRS are understood, with widespread
acknowledgement of the need for it, does the minister recognise
that continued uncertainty, and how does she plan to address it?
What practical changes have her recent meetings with industry
produced?
I understand that implementing the DRS is a big change to manage,
particularly for small businesses. I have been regularly meeting
industry stakeholders throughout the process. As a result of
feedback from retailers, we have simplified the return-point
exemption process, particularly in relation to concerns around
storage, and Circularity Scotland this week announced a package
of support to improve cash flow for producers, which equates to
£22 million of support. That was in direct response to specific
asks from small producers.
I will continue to meet businesses and listen to them, and, later
today, I will meet with a group of small producers.
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland
and Fife) (Green)
Some MSPs have claimed that operating kerbside collections
alongside the DRS would make Scotland unlike any other country in
the world. Are those claims accurate? How would the minister like
councils to respond to the DRS?
Those claims are inaccurate. Many countries that operate a
Deposit return scheme also
have kerbside collections, including Norway, Germany, Croatia and
Iceland. Our scheme will mean that local authorities will have
less waste to handle, as well as reduced litter and associated
clean-up costs, which is good for residents and good for council
budgets.
We are supporting local authorities to prepare for the
introduction of the scheme and our £70 million recycling
improvement fund is supporting councils to modernise recycling
services.
