Bottle return scheme starting in the summer

By Kim Pratt, Circular Economy Campaigner

It’s now just a few months until Scotland’s deposit return scheme will be starting It’s been a rocky road, with countless delays and the recent SNP leadership election seeing it used as a political football, but we’re hopeful that this will finally be it

The deposit return scheme represents really exciting progress happening to protect the environment in Scotland It will require people to pay a 20p deposit on single-use drink containers made of plastic, metal or glass. We can then get our 20p back by returning the empty packaging to any shop participating in the scheme, and the can or bottle will be recycled.

In Scotland, lots of us fondly remember doing this with our Irn Bru bottles, so it’s not surprising that there has been broad public support for the scheme A recent survey found that around 3 in 4 Scots supported the idea of deposit return

Once the deposit return scheme is introduced, there will be 34,000 fewer plastic bottles littered every day in our streams, parks and countryside, saving the public £46 million a year through reduced litter clean up costs. It will also mean a reduction of 4 million tonnes of climate changing emissions over 25 years. Systems like this have proven to be extremely successful around the world.

Households in Scotland recycle less than half their waste. The scheme is expected to increase recycling for bottles and cans to 90%. It's been designed to be inclusive to people in all communities by making sure it is as easy to return a drinks containers as it is to buy one

After being delayed twice, the Scottish Government is saying that unless it’s blocked by the UK Government, it will be starting in August this year. The UK Government recently confirmed that similar schemes will be starting in the rest of the UK, showing that Scotland’s environmental leadership can lead to wider progress.

The deposit return scheme has been frequently in the news as the date draws closer, with businesses claiming they’ve not had enough time or support to get the scheme up and running In reality, businesses have had five years to prepare. The Scottish Government has engaged with businesses of all sizes and addressed many of their concerns throughout the lengthy development of the scheme.

It is fundamental to the long-term success of the scheme that the costs of Scotland’s deposit return scheme come from industry. Part of its purpose is to make sure the responsibility for cleaning up is held by the companies putting these products on shelves, rather than from the public purse, as is currently the case