Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme
Background
The Scottish Parliament has legislated to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single-use drinks containers. Its key aims are to reduce litter and greenhouse gas emissions; increase recycling; and shift costs of recovery of drinks containers away from local authorities and on to producers.
Find out more about the Deposit Return Scheme at the Scottish Government website (gov.scot)
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee Scrutiny
In March 2023, the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee agreed to take evidence on the DRS. The Committee agreed to hear from the Scottish Government and the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd.
The aim of these sessions was to understand more about the scheme's readiness ahead of its launch and to understand progress in implementing the scheme.
The initial launch date of the DRS was July 2022. However, the Scottish Government introduced secondary legislation to delay the scheme's launch to August 2023, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and EU exit as reasons for a 2022 launch being impractical.
The launch was then delayed to March 2024. In a letter to the Convener, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity said the UK Government's decision to grant only a temporary and partial exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act made the scheme 'unworkable'.
More recently, the Scottish Government has legislated for a revised launch date of 1 October 2025.
The Committee continues to engage with the Scottish Government and industry ahead of the scheme's implementation.
Timeline
13 May 2020
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 approved by the Scottish Parliament allowing for the proposed DRS to launch on 1 July 2022.
15 December 2021
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022 laid in the Scottish Parliament with the purpose to delay the scheme’s launch until 16 August 2023.
23 February 2022
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022 approved by the Scottish Parliament.
14 March 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.
28 March 2023
Committee evidence session with senior executives of Circularity Scotland Ltd.
18 April 2023
The Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity wrote to the Convener giving details of the Scottish Government’s intention to delay the Scheme’s launch to 1 March 2024 – to allow “for confirmation of the Internal Market Act exclusion, resolution of outstanding operational issues and extensive testing of IT and logistic systems.”
17 May 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2023 laid in the Scottish Parliament with the purpose to delay the scheme’s launch until 1 March 2024.
9 June 2023
The Minister wrote to the Convener setting out the Scottish Government’s intention to delay the launch of the Scheme to 2025 – citing issues of interoperability across the UK and securing an exclusion from the Internal Market Act. The letter also set out the Scottish Government’s intention to bring forward further legislation to delay the launch date to 1 October 2025 – following recent discussions with the UK Government.
13 June 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.
28 June 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2023 approved by the Scottish Parliament – delaying the launch of the scheme until 1 March 2024.
30 June 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2023 laid in Scottish Parliament – to delay the scheme to October 2025 as announced in June by the Scottish Government.
26 September 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.
25 October 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2023 approved by the Scottish Parliament – further delaying the launch of the scheme to October 2025.