Not a single shopping centre willing to host bottle return scheme
A FLAGSHIP recycling project has failed to attract a single organisation or venue to voluntarily have a machine to accept bottles and cans, the Scottish Government has admitted.
No shopping centre, hospital, bus or railway station has agreed to become a place to return drinks containers, despite predictions there would be 500 voluntary points across the country.
The SNP and Greens’ Deposit Return Scheme will see customers charged an extra 20p for single-use drinks containers such as glass or plastic bottles and cans.
The Zero Waste Scotland quango has said there would be hundreds of return points in public places such as shopping centres, hospitals, food courts and transport hubs – in addition to those in shops where the containers are sold.
But the Scottish Green minister responsible for the scheme has now revealed not one potential venue has volunteered to host a bottle and can return point.
Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Greens and the minister for the circular economy, made the written admission in response to a parliamentary question by Scottish Tory MSP Maurice Golden.
He said: ‘This is meant to be a flagship scheme which doesn’t just help the environment, but motivates and incentivises businesses. Instead it has turned them off.
‘If the SNP-Green Government doesn’t get its act together, this initiative will have failed before it is even off the ground. The theory behind the Deposit Return Scheme is correct and, so long as it is done in partnership with people and businesses, it could be an all-round success.
‘But in the Nationalists’ hands, it risks being a costly disaster.’
Last week, the Scottish Retail Consortium warned shops will be forced to put up prices because they are not being adequately compensated for taking back used containers as part of the scheme.
It is proposed that stores will be paid 3.55p for each of the first 8,000 containers taken back. The payment then drops to 1.35p for each bottle or can.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: ‘The fees completely fail to fairly compensate retailers.’
He said they will face having to pass the costs on to the consumer.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will go live on August 16, 2023, and is an important step towards creating a more circular economy.
‘We would not anticipate a significant volume of applications this far out from the scheme going live.
‘However, we expect to see a much greater level of interest as we draw closer and will be engaging with industry and local authorities to encourage them to apply.’