On Tuesday 12th November the Scottish Retail Consortium will be providing oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Environment, Climate Change, and Land Reform Committee Call for Evidence on the Scottish Government’s Deposit Return Scheme.

Commenting ahead of the evidence session, Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC Head of Policy, said: 

“The SRC has consistently said a targeted well-designed deposit return scheme can improve recycling and tackle litter. Regrettably the current provisions are unlikely to achieve that. That's why we hope MSPs will pay close attention to the evidence we have provided and recommend changes to make this a realistic workable scheme.

Without changes there is a huge risk the scheme won't deliver. The timeframe is too short. The costs are enormous. The proposed system leaves industry with all of the risk but very few levers to influence customer behaviour. And setting up a scheme just for Scotland and including glass adds enormous cost and complexity.

“Retailers recognise the need to take action to improve the Environment. But rushing to deliver a flawed DRS will be far worse than taking the necessary time to do it well. MSPs should heed the evidence from industry experts and recommend the necessary changes to deliver a successful Scottish DRS." 

All Media Enquiries to Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC Head of Policy and External Affairs

The SRC Response is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/S5_Environment/Inquiries/ECCLR_DRS060_WritSub_SRC.pdf