A new era for sustainability

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will collect 90% of specified cans and bottles for recycling within three years, according to current projections, placing it among the world’s top-performing schemes.

The scheme has been designed with Scotland’s unique needs in mind – it will work for customers whether they live in Stromness or Stranraer. With more than 17,000 return points proposed across the country, it will be just as easy to return a drink as it is to buy one.

And it’s accessible: being able to return a container to wherever customers have bought it from will ensure easy access for all groups.

Tackling Climate Change

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will encourage more and better recycling. Recycling is one of the most effective actions we can take as individuals to tackle climate change. The scheme will reduce the harmful emissions that are contributing to the climate emergency by reducing the amount of plastic, steel, aluminium and glass that goes to landfill or incineration.

The emissions savings from recycling rather than manufacturing from raw materials each time can be up to 60%, which could make a substantial difference. Recycling cans uses about 95% less energy than manufacturing new ones.

The scheme will cut emissions by the equivalent of around four million tonnes of CO2 over 25 years. That’s an average of around 160,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent of taking 83,000 cars off the road in the UK.

The decision to include glass will contribute significantly to the overall aims of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, not least by reducing our CO2eq emissions by more than 50,000 tonnes each year – or nearly 1.3 million tonnes over 25 years.

Glass drinks bottles that are included in Scotland’s DRS represent an estimated 560 million containers that reach the Scottish market each year. Scotland’s DRS will tackle this by recycling an additional 53,000 tonnes of glass containers.

GAME-CHANGER FOR RECYCLING

Scotland’s DRS will also help us tackle the single-use, throwaway culture. It’s a proven behaviour change initiative, that incentivises us all to do the right thing. It is a significant milestone towards a circular economy and is one piece of a broader platform of change to transition away from a makeuse-dispose society.

The scheme will result in more bottles and cans being recycled and will produce a better quality of recyclate.

The separated collection methods required as part of

Scotland’s DRS will make closed loop recycling much more viable. This will result in significant energy savings and reduced carbon impact.

Scotland’s DRS aims to capture an estimated 1.5bn drinks containers each year for recycling, potentially almost doubling the amount currently recycled. It will increase the quality of recycled material collected here.

Preventing Litter

As Scotland’s tourism industry contributes £4bn to the economy, it is vital that we reduce the litter we see in our countryside, towns, and waterways for both residents and tourists alike. Deposit return has the potential to greatly decrease our litter rates, ensuring that our landscape is kept beautiful for everyone to enjoy.

Independent experts at Eunomia estimate that more than 140,000 plastic and glass bottles and drinks cans are littered unnecessarily every day in Scotland. The scheme will tackle this visible source of litter that blights our town centres, country paths and burns, cutting it by a third. Reducing the amount of littered glass will protect both the public and wildlife.

In addition, the scheme will reduce the £46m of public money spent cleaning up litter every year, and the wider negative impacts of litter – including on local businesses, house prices, community wellbeing and crime – representing at least a further £361m in costs to our society and economy.

Economic Benefits

The DRS offers direct economic benefits through litter prevention and reducing carbon emissions, as well as the potential for greater recycling and reprocessing opportunities here in Scotland.

Communities Will Benefit

Schools and other community organisations will be able to get involved by registering to act as return points.

In addition, the scheme will create jobs in Scotland, it is estimated that roughly 500 jobs will be created across the country in bulking centres alone.

The deposit return scheme could reduce the amount we spend as a result of litter, allowing this money to be redirected towards other community amenities.