Get across the desk, DRS administrator tells governments
T
he administrator of Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) has urged the UK and Scottish governments to “get round the table” to ship the programme.
In a uncommon intervention, Circularity Scotland waded into the ever-deepening row between Holyrood and Westminster, with First Minister Humza Yousaf suggesting to the PA news company on Saturday the scheme may very well be scrapped if the UK Government doesn’t stroll again its efficient blocking of glass containers.
UK ministers issued a partial exemption to the Internal Market Act which might not embrace glass containers – scuppering Scottish Government plans to incorporate the receptacles within the DRS.
We urge each governments to urgently get around the desk and agree a pathway for built-in and harmonised deposit return schemes throughout the UK
The uncertainty over the scheme’s future grew when Mr Yousaf wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, setting a Monday deadline for the transfer to be rowed again, suggesting failure to take action would trigger “grave danger” to the DRS.
In an announcement seen by PA, a spokesman for the administrator stated: “Circularity Scotland, our members and business and industry partners have invested around £300 million to develop a deposit return scheme and have done so at no cost to the taxpayer.
“This scheme will be ready to launch in March 2024 and will be a platform for a scaled-up and interoperable pan-UK scheme.
“We urge both governments to urgently get round the table and agree a pathway for integrated and harmonised deposit return schemes across the UK.
“Without this agreement, investment and public confidence will be seriously damaged, jeopardising credibility for investment in any future major environmental projects.”
Circularity Scotland employs 50 individuals, with their futures unsure given the turmoil across the scheme, whereas companies already signed as much as the DRS – together with a number of the world’s largest drinks corporations like Heineken, Coca Cola and Diageo – make use of upwards of two million.