Following a crunch meeting yesterday between Scotland’s largest food retailers, Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), and the Scottish Government, the retail industry has called on Scottish Ministers to commit to delivering a complete operational blueprint for retailers by the end of February for the proposed deposit return scheme for drinks containers (DRS) to avoid huge disruption for Scottish shoppers, higher prices, and reduced choice.
Scotland’s deposit return scheme will require every business operating in Scotland which sells any drink cans or bottles to put in place a takeback system. The Scottish Retail Consortium has estimated retailers are investing over £250 million this year on establishing the scheme, which includes purchasing and installing reverse vending machines, reorganising and refitting stores, changing prices, product ranges, and IT systems. A continuing lack of clarity on how the system will work is holding back key investment and operational changes crucial to a successful launch.
Over the last eight months retailers have consistently called for clarity on what many of these requirements are. Despite our engagement, the Scottish Government and its partners, including the scheme administrator Circularity Scotland, failed to hit the key milestone of October last year. The absence of an operational blueprint covering all the issues retailers require to deliver DRS means it is already likely customers will face a inconsistently operated new scheme. The likelihood of a DRS which leads to higher prices, a baffling in-store experience, and reduced product choice and availability increases as every week passes. Retailers therefore pressed for an urgent meeting with the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Minister, which was held yesterday afternoon (31 January).
Following the meeting, Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
“Retailers have a strong record of accomplishment on recycling, reducing the environmental impact of their operations, and supporting improvements throughout the supply chain. They want DRS to be a success for the environment and customers and have already invested tens of millions of pounds in the scheme, alongside providing funding for Circularity Scotland and dedicating project teams to delivering the scheme. However, despite this enormous investment we are alarmed at the failure of government and the bodies it has approved to provide the key information needed for retailers to build a workable return system.
“We are already beyond reasonable deadlines for this scheme to land well in August. This is the critical moment, and we hope after a constructive meeting with the Circular Economy Minister, that the scheme can be put back on track. Unless the Scottish Government and its partners can deliver a complete operational blueprint by the end of February, covering the key information retailers need to deliver the necessary infrastructure for DRS to succeed, we do not believe the scheme can launch successfully in mid-August.
“If these issues cannot be resolved, then Scottish consumers will pay the price. Shoppers will face a bewildering patchwork of approaches which will be difficult to understand with the process of returning drinks and retrieving deposits likely to be cumbersome. Customers will also face the consequence of retailers having to simplify their offering to attempt to be compliant; which is likely to mean reduced choice and potentially higher prices.
“This is the last chance saloon to deliver a successful Scottish DRS which will land well with consumers in 2023. Retailers will do everything they can to try and resolve these issues over the coming weeks, but it falls to the Scottish Government to deliver a coherent and comprehensive plan for the scheme by the end of February.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
Timeline of engagement
- The SRC wrote to the Scottish Government on the 23rd of June to raise concerns about the retail handling fee, the online requirements, and an early concern at the lack of detail provided to businesses.
- The SRC wrote again to the Scottish Government on the 9th of September to reiterate those concerns. In that letter we were explicit an ‘operational blueprint’ was required with all the key information by Mid-October at the absolute latest deadline.
- On the 10th of October, the SRC followed up that letter with further correspondence, explicitly citing the need for full operational guidance by the 19th of October and including a list of the outstanding issues at that time.
The SRC has met with the Circular Economy Minister on a regular basis over the last six months, alongside participating as a member of the System Wide Assurance Group which is chaired by the Scottish Government.