Chamber and committees

As a private business, the remuneration of Circularity Scotland Ltd staff is not shared with the Scottish Government, nor is it subject to Ministerial approval.

The model used to inform that BRIA deals with local authorities as a collective group and it is therefore not possible to provide detailed calculations for individual local authority costs and benefits in relation to recycling. You can view the full report here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-final-business-regulatory-impact-assessment/ .

Landfill tax is considered a ‘transfer payment’ under HM Treasury guidance and is therefore not included in BRIA calculations.

The number of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) that will be used in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), was estimated at 3,021. This information can be found in Table 2 on page 19 of the revised Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

The BRIA also indicates that the cost of an RVM could vary from around £19,000 to £25,000 for smaller models, and around £30,000 for a larger machine.

The costs associated with operating of Return Points, including RVMs can be found in Table 1 on page 5 of the Full Business Case Addendum .

The identification and acquisition of DRS-compatible RVMs is a matter for the Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd, and retailers to manage. This is consistent with the industry-led approach to DRS.

The number of reverse vending machines (RVMs) was based on analysis of data that identified retail locations in Scotland, the store type and the sales area. This estimated that there would be approximately 3,021 automatic return points using RVMs and 14,386 manual return points.

The decision on whether to install a RVM will be for individual retailers to make.

Retailers are entitled to claim a reasonable handling fee and be reimbursed for the deposit for each processed in-scope container. The Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL), will provide retailers with appropriate guidance which will aid retailers in identifying such containers and therefore limit the chances of ineligible containers being returned.

As Scheme Administrator, CSL will verify collected containers prior to payment to ensure no ineligible containers have a deposit or handling fee paid.

Under the producer responsibility principle, these costs will be borne by industry.

I am not aware of any reports that glass captured through our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) could be processed outside Scotland.

As set out in the answer to question S6W-07104 on 18 March 2022, DRS will significantly increase the quantity and quality of glass recyclate. Local authorities will continue to collect glass not captured by DRS in line with the duty in the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

I am therefore confident that DRS will have a significant positive impact on the quality and quantity of recycled glass that is available to manufacturers in Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

There are no costs or benefits associated with the wholesale sector in the economic model underpinning the final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

After intensive engagement with the wholesale sector we concluded that industry has options to minimise any costs of DRS for the supply chain.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07100 on 18 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is complementary to extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, which we are working with the other UK administrations to introduce. Both DRS and packaging EPR will drive higher recycling rates for glass, creating a significant opportunity for the Scottish glass reprocessing industry.

The Strategic Environmental Assessment Addendum, published on 14 December 2021, shows that our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will increase the quantity of glass recyclate by more than 1.3 megatonnes over 25 years. It is available here: Supporting documents - A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Strategic Environmental Assessment Addendum - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I understand that Circularity Scotland Ltd intends to collect and transport glass separately from other materials under Scotland’s DRS. This will reduce contamination which is currently a problem with glass collected at the kerbside. I am therefore confident that our DRS will significantly increase the quality of glass recyclate.