Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether the cost of littered materials, which will be included in the upcoming deposit return scheme, will be used to calculate the total cost of litter to be included in the (packaging) extended producer responsibility scheme.
The Scottish Government is committed that extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) should cover the full net costs of both binned and ground litter cleanup and disposal, and to its introduction in regulations as soon as practicable. However, binned and ground littered household packaging cleanup and disposal costs are not yet included in disposal cost fees producers are obligated to pay under the pEPR scheme.
PackUK, the scheme administrator for pEPR, will fund public information campaigns focused on the reduction of littered packaging, and report on items of packaging commonly littered or disposed of in street bins. Items covered by the upcoming deposit return scheme (drink containers made of PET plastic, aluminum, and steel) are excluded from disposal cost fees under pEPR.