Nine in ten drinks makers pour scorn on SNP’s f lagship bottle returns plan

Recycling scheme costs ‘threaten businesses’

THE SNP’s flagship deposit return scheme has been served a fresh blow after researchers warned the eco plans could cripple 92 per cent of drink producers.

The vast majority of Scottish business owners fear the introduction of the bottle recycling scheme could threaten the ‘viability’ of their companies, research from Scotland Food and Drink shows.

The findings, which were presented to Ministers and obtained under freedom of information, warn that huge registration and set-up fees will be too much for some firms to take on.

Under the deposit return scheme (DRS) to be introduced in August, shops, restaurants and bars will have to install ‘backwards’ vending machines so people who buy bottles or cans of drink can return the containers for processing.

The customer will have to pay an additional deposit fee of 20p per bottle or can they buy, which will be given back to them if they dispose of them correctly.

Scotland Food and Drink asked 55 of its producer members about the

DRS, including whether it is ‘a genuine risk to the ongoing viability of your business’, to which 92 per cent of respondents answered ‘yes’. The report said: ‘There is no doubt that the scheme needs to be adapted to protect smaller producers more than it does currently.’

One contributor said: ‘The cost pressures, time pressures and the scheme as it is designed mean that we feel it is very likely to mean our business will fail as a result of the scheme.’

Some warned it would lead to drinks producers sending more goods to England to avoid the extra bureaucracy and expense.

Nathan Burrough fears the DRS will cost his Edinburgh family firm Bon Accord Soft Drinks £55,000 a year in administration fees alone.

Under the initiative, every glass bottle Bon Accord sells will cost the company 5.5p. This year it is aiming for a million sales, which would cost it an extra £55,000.

Mr Burrough said: ‘I can see a situation where we’re going to have to close the business down through no fault of our own.’

Documents obtained by this newspaper show Nationalist MPs and MSPs highlighting constituents’ concerns about the scheme to Green Minister Lorna Slater.

Lisa Cameron, Annabelle Ewing, Fiona Hyslop and Mairi Gougeon have written to Ms Slater for assurance or clarification on the issue. Tory MSP Maurice Golden said: ‘Businesses are extremely worried about the farcical implementation of the deposit return scheme by the SNP and Greens. Now we learn even SNP MPs and MSPs have grave concerns about its impacts.

‘Her [Ms Slater’s] scheme is a complete mess.’

David Harris, chief executive of Circularity Scotland, the administrator of the DRS, said changes’ had been made since the survey was published in December.

He said: ‘As a result, we’ve been able to reduce the forecast producer fees by up to 40 per cent.’

‘It is very likely to mean our business will fail’