Q&A

AS the UK Government offers conditional support to provide a vital exemption to allow the Deposit Return Scheme to be introduced in Scotland, SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR MICHAEL BLACKLEY assesses the key issues:

How will the Deposit Return Scheme work?

Under the original Scottish Government proposal, customers would pay a 20p deposit on drinks they buy in glass bottles, plastic bottles or cans. They could then get this back if they return empty containers to retailers and other collection points.

Does the Scottish Government have the power to introduce the scheme?

Yes, powers over the environment and recycling initiatives are devolved to Holyrood so it has the legal right to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme. But it needs the support of the UK Government because it would have an impact on the UK internal market and cross-Border trade.

What is the UK Government role?

When Britain left the EU, the UK Government introduced legislation to ensure the internal market of the four home nations was protected while still allowing divergence in devolved areas. The Scottish Government needed to apply for an exemption from the Internal Market Act (IMA) for its Deposit Return Scheme as failure to secure this would mean it would not be able to force producers based outside Scotland to sign up.

What are the concerns about granting an exemption?

As it stands, the Scottish Government scheme could cause trade barriers between Scotland and the rest of the UK as there could be different systems in place. This would be costly for businesses, as there would be different rules on issues like labelling, including barcodes. They could also have to sign up for different schemes in different parts of the UK, which would add to bureaucracy and cost.

What is the UK Government solution?

It intends to grant a time-limited exemption from the IMA to the Scottish Government until a UK-wide scheme is introduced, planned for October 2025. It wants to ensure that one scheme can eventually operate across all parts of the UK, so wants any Scottish scheme to be a pilot with the same rules on the types of containers involved and the deposit fee. The UK Government wants this to cover only plastic bottles and cans, and not glass. It also wants the same barcodes and labelling to be used, meaning a customer who pays a deposit on a drinks container in England can return empty containers in Scotland.

Why does the UK Government not want to include glass?

It believes it would add cost and complexity to the system and believes consumer choice would be reduced if it is included. Industry groups have raised concerns about costs involved in collecting and storing glass returns, as well as the risk that it could reduce the quality of recycled glass produced. Some evidence has indicated including glass in a scheme could increase the amount of plastic used for drinks containers. Norway, which has a scheme for only cans and plastic, has one of the highest glass recycling rates in Europe.