I INTRODUCED PLASTIC BAG CHARGE... AND SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN

AS the Scottish Daily Mail has shown us over the last few days, this country has a serious litter problem. There’s more to it than cans and bottles, of course, but they’re among the largest items people still litter – making up as much as 40 per cent by volume of all Scotland’s discarded rubbish.

And they bring particular problems: broken glass causes injuries, both for people and for animals, and plastics increasingly end up in the sea and in the food chain. Empty cans and bottles are also valuable raw materials for recycling, therefore it’s also bad news for our economy every time one ends up littered or in a landfill.

A deposit system makes that value apparent to everyone. The evidence from other countries is that even a small deposit is the only encouragement most people need to bring back their empties.

We know this already from the carrier bag charge, which I was pleased to bring in as Cabinet Secretary for the Environment in 2014 – with support from the Daily Mail and many others.

That is a great example of how a simple change can make a big difference.

Discarded plastic bags used to be a regular sight blowing in our trees and hedges or clogging up our drains. In the first year of the 5p levy alone, 65 million fewer bags were handed out in Scotland, and we can see the benefits across the country already.

When I was considering whether to introduce that charge, I was told by some that the public wouldn’t accept it, or it would be bad news for retailers. There were was no shortage of big businesses ready to line up and voice concerns about the likely negative impact of the policy.

The reality was very different. It was taken for granted almost overnight, it was popular with the public, and retailers quickly started promoting the fact that this charge was providing substantial new income for charitable causes. Scepticism had morphed into celebration.

The mere fact that a value had been attached to something people previously seen as free and disposable changed attitudes. People began to think twice before taking bags or throwing them away.

IN 2015, I commissioned research to see if a deposit and return scheme could work in Scotland to get the ball rolling. I saw this policy – a successful one in so many countries – as the next logical step on the road to a zero waste society.

Just like the carrier bag charge, deposit-return schemes for bottles and other drinks containers can help change consumer behaviour.

People will be far less likely to discard items that can be returned for cash. Scotland’s beautiful environment will benefit and there will be less litter in our communities.

Deposits in other countries also help support charities. When people return cans or bottles, it can feel like ‘free money’ – even though they’re getting their own cash back.

In Norway, the system makes it easy to give that money to the Red Cross. Since 2001, it has received almost £20million this way. Similarly, in South Australia, the Scouts have partnered with the local deposit system, every year getting almost £2million towards expeditions and facilities.

When you go to places that use deposit return systems, such as Norway and Germany, you see it’s not just cans and bottles that are no longer littered. With roadsides free of bottles and cans, people are less likely to throw away crisp packets or sweetie wrappers.

Persuading people to stop dropping chewing gum or cigarette ends is perhaps the last and most difficult part of the issue – but it would be great to get to the point where that’s almost all that’s left of Scotland’s litter problem.

Measures such as deposits or the carrier bag charge use very small financial signals to make transformative change, boosting employment and making a serious impact on littering.

I urge all politicians to talk to the businesses that would benefit, as well as to charities rightly concerned about litter and pollution.

More than a quarter of a billion people around the world live in places that use deposits, and that number is growing all the time.

Lithuania was the most recent to get on board, launching its system a year ago, and the country has already seen results that far exceed expectations.

New South Wales will start using deposits in July, and we expect others to follow suit, both in Europe and further afield. When I visited Sweden to see how the system works, I was told it was widely understood as a great way both to tackle litter and improve recycling.

It was also second nature for the supermarket customers I met in Quebec.

Although the principle is the same everywhere, every government that has adopted deposits has tried to do so in a way that works best for their country. It will require discussion on the details, and I have confidence that SNP ministers and the civil service will listen carefully to all interested parties.

I know businesses that work with successful deposit systems in other countries are ready to talk to the Scottish Government and share their expertise and experience of what worked best for them.

MAYBE the rest of the UK will follow Scotland’s lead and consider such schemes. A year after we brought in the carrier bag charge for Scotland, I was very pleased to see the same policy come into effect in England.

Many of the environmental problems we face can seem abstract or hard to find answers to. But our environment isn’t just the polar icecaps or endangered wildlife. It’s also the beaches we walk the dog on and the streets outside our homes.

I wish all those other problems had a solution as simple and proven as deposit and return – something that could be set up within a year and be making a difference immediately.

That’s why it’s great to see other parties at Holyrood getting on board with this idea.

Whatever we disagree on, I’m sure politicians from all parties want us to have city spaces and wild places we can all feel proud of again, where local residents and tourists don’t have to pick their way through mess and litter.

I’m also sure my fellow MSPs receive the same volume of complaints about litter as I deal with – especially those who represent areas that include some of Scotland’s most beautiful beaches, as I do in Moray.

It’s time for us to decide whether we’re prepared to do something about the fact that our country’s streets, parks and beaches are clogged with empty cans and bottles.

I will urge colleagues of all parties to be bold and work together to bring in a depositreturn system for Scotland that works well for the public, for business, and for our local authorities.

Introducing a scheme won’t be easy but nothing bold and transformational ever is.

One day, future generations will look back and wonder why it took us so long to get round to it.