TROUBLE IN STORE
Retail giants tell the Scottish Government that Slater’s deposit return plan is unworkable in its current form
button on a scheme that has totally unravelled on her watch.
“It is time for her to finally listen to businesses rather than openly mocking their concerns as she did to the Green Party faithful last week.”
Scot t ish Labour’s net zero spokesman, Colin Smyth, said the DRS had “descended into farce”.
He added: “The SNP- Green Government cannot keep ignoring the growing chorus of voices warning that this current scheme will be catastrophic for businesses.
“Mairi McAllan, Lorna Slater and the rest of the coalition must start listening and fix this chaotic scheme.”
Former rural af fai rs minister and SNP MSP Fergus Ewing said the Government has to halt the scheme now before more money is wasted by firms preparing for it.
He said: “Surely now Lorna Slater and new First Minister Humza Yousaf must do the right thing and halt the scheme right now. Hundreds of small businesses are in a state of fear and alarm over whether they can survive the impacts of DRS, such are the costs and complexity of the scheme.
“Now added to their voices are those of the supermarkets. Surely if that is what their advice is it cannot be ignored?
“Slater has claimed the scheme is business-led. Those businesses now want to lead the scheme directly into the recycling bin.”
The deposit return scheme has been heavily criticised by smal l f irms and opposition politicians have also raised concerns about the company which runs it. Circularity Scotland was set up to administer the Government scheme in 2021 and now has about 50 workers. After refusing to detail how much its senior executives are paid, a leaked document revealed by a newspaper showedthefirm’showedthefirm’s CEO Robert Harris was being paid £ 300,000 a year. We revealed how the notfor- profit company is reliant on people nnot recycling their emptyem drinks containers to fund its wage bill.
It plans to make at least 57million a year from unredeemed 20p deposits, anda will also fund the company through a fee which ink s producers have to pay every year.
The firm’s overall ambition is to take over the running of the drinks recycling scheme in England and Wales when it is launched in 2025.
We found job adverts showing the company planned to have a £5billiona- year turnover by running the scheme in the rest of Great Britain, prompting campaigners to say it was using Scotland’s businesses as a test ground for their bigger ambitions.
The firm said it was fully focused on making the scheme work here.
The Scottish Government was asked if it would halt the scheme in l ight of the intervention of the supermarkets.
A spokesman replied: “Scotland’s deposit return scheme will be a major part of our efforts to reduce litter, cut emissions and build a greener, more circular economy.
“We are commit ted to this important scheme which is a producer responsibility and continue to work to support businesses to deliver the scheme and identify further feasible, fair and legal options to support small producers, such as a grace period.”