Drinks firms pour scorn on bottle scheme

Argyll businesses have slammed the Scottish Government's flagship drinks recycling scheme, calling it a 'catastrophe' for the industry.

 

The UK’s first deposit return scheme will go live this summer, with the aim of helping recycle billions of bottles and cans every year.

 

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will require shoppers to pay an extra 20p when buying drinks in a single-use container made of PET plastic, steel and aluminium, or glass, between 50ml and three litres.

 

The fee will be refunded when they return the empty, intact containers for recycling at one of 35,000 collection points, over the counter, via reverse vending machines, or an online retailer.

 

It was due to launch in April last year, but it was pushed back twice and it is now due to start on August 16, 2023.

 

More than 500 business leaders signed an open letter in November calling for a delay to the scheme, described as "one of the most environmentally ambitious yet complex" in Europe.

 

They said it will have a “catastrophic impact” on both businesses and consumers in its current form, and should be “paused, revised and rewritten”. They warned some drink firms could be forced to close due to the administrative costs.

 

Signatories included many famous local names, such as Kilchoman and Bruichladdich Distilleries on Islay, the Loch Melfort Hotel, Kilmartin Glen Spirits, Fyne Ales, Beinn an Tuirc Distillers in Kintyre, Jura Stores CIC, and the Campbeltown Whisky Company.

 

Jamie Delap, managing director at Fyne Ales, said: "At Fyne Ales we are 100 per cent supportive of the need to get to Net Zero, get there quickly, and we accept that this will mean changes and costs for our business.

 

"However the way that DRS is being implemented in Scotland is exceptionally poor. We felt that our concerns were dismissed and obvious questions were swept under the carpet with a blanket re-assurance that everything would be fixed.

 

"However this didn’t take account either of the scale and ambition of the Scottish DRS, nor the limitations placed on it by the current devolution settlement.

 

"There was no meaningful attempt to address the fact that the UK is an integrated market for drinks products, where a single product can be sold anywhere across the UK.

 

"We have said consistently that small brewers need 18 to 24 months from the point all information is available to get ready. We are still missing major elements of information, notably how VAT will work.

 

"We now have a scant seven months, pretty much from a standing start, and this is going to push up the costs to our business hugely, and means that we face either exceptionally high costs to implement on time, and the risk of a loss of substantial sales due to unfair competition from producers who ignore the law, and whom SEPA will have limited capability and appetite to police.

 

"This terrible implementation process means redirecting much of our resource this year away from creating jobs and investing in the future of the business, including reducing other investments in energy efficiency and CO2 reduction, and towards mitigating the disastrous implementation of DRS by the Scottish Government."

 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is extremely disappointing that the UK Government has still to reach a decision on how VAT will be applied to deposits."

 

Circularity Scotland Ltd, responsible for the smooth operation of the scheme, said: "We recognise the complexities involved when it comes to scheme articles being purchased outside of Scotland. We are working closely with industry and stakeholders, and will share an update in due course."

 

Producers and importers must be registered with the DRS scheme regulator, SEPA, by February 28. For support, call 0141 401 0899 or visit www.circularityscotland.com.