Scotland pushes bottle return scheme back again

MEGAN HUMPHREY

INDEPENDENT retailers breathed a sigh of relief last month after the Scottish government buckled under pressure and delayed the deposit return scheme (DRS) for a third time.

Newly elected �irst minister Humza Yousef announced the news as he laid out his priorities for government for the next three years.

During his speech, he reinforced his commitment to DRS “as a way to increase recycling, reduce litter and help achieve our net-zero ambitions”, but said the implementation of the scheme would be pushed back by 10 months until 1 March 2024, giving retailers extra time to prepare.

“We will use that additional time to work with businesses, and Circularity Scotland, to address concerns with the scheme and ensure a successful launch next year,” he said.

Yousef effectively blamed the UK government for the delay, claiming it had blocked the scheme under the Internal Markets Act.

However, he went on to claim the government would put in place a package of measures to “simplify and de-risk” the scheme, but no further details have yet been announced.

Responding to the news, the Fed’s deputy vice-president and DRS lead, Mo Raz- zaq, told Retail Express it was “the right decision” as “businesses are nowhere near ready due to poor communication from the government”.

On the same day as the speech from Yousef, the minister responsible for the policy, Lorna Slater, held a meeting with retailers, including Razzaq.

“Many voices in the meeting said the delay may be until March, but the government only has until September to sort out all the problems businesses have and actually get people behind a DRS,” he said. “The delay should act as a wake-up call that much more work is needed.”

Since the announcement, Scottish retailers have come together to demand grants are made available to small businesses to help them get ready.

Razzaq said �inancial support for stores should re�lect not just the cost of preparing for the scheme, but also of protecting those that face signi�icant losses due to the delay.

“The urgent issue is now what happens for those stores that have taken out leases on machines to start from this August,” he said. “They face thousands of pounds in payments before the scheme launches unless �inance companies understand and accept the need for a delay to the start of payments. The same is true for stores that have already cleared space ready for machines or storage.”

The move would align itself with the Republic of Ireland, which has already issued tapered support of €6,000 over three years for businesses.

During her meeting with retailers, Slater also said containers under 100ml or businesses selling less than 5,000 units per year would be removed from the scheme, and claimed the exemptions process for stores had been “simpli�ied”. However, it was unclear as to whether this referred only to changes made last November.

When asked whether it agrees with the decision to delay, scheme administrator Circularity Scotland told Retail Express: “This new launch date now gives those businesses more time to prepare, and those businesses who have yet to register now have until 12 January 2024 to do so.

“The Scottish government’s announcement puts an end to speculation about the timescales for the launch of the scheme, and we urge all producers and retailers who have yet to register for the scheme to contact us so we can support them through the registration process.”

How are you reducing your store’s energy costs?

“THE alcohol and soft drinks chillers in our store are only switched on just before licensing hours, and they are turned off two hours before the shop closes. We have alarms on phones to alert staff when to switch them on and off. Employees are trained to respond to these alerts. All the staff areas have automatic lights, and appliances, such as coffee machines, are powered down overnight, which all helps to keep our costs down.”

Angela Sykes, Denmore Premier Foodstore, Rhyl

“OUR monthly energy bills went up from £500 to £2,000 since the war between Russia and Ukraine started. It forced us to take our energy usage more seriously. We removed all electric heaters from the premises and replaced them with high-heat-retention storage heaters. This required an initial investment, but it will pay off in the long term. We insulated our entrance and exit points to retain as much heat as possible.”

Sailesh Tanna, Easte Leake Post Office, Loughborough

“I USE special timer plugs to switch off automatically when they’re not needed. This can’t be done with milk chillers due to wastage, but it works really well with drinks fridges and screens. For example, my Rollover machine has a screen, but I time this to switch on an hour after opening and an hour before close when footfall is low. I have saved 50% on bills doing this throughout the shop.”

Ken Singh, BB Nevison Superstore, Pontefract

Do you have an issue to discuss with other retailers? Call 020 7689 3357 or email megan.humphrey@newtrade.co.uk

SCAMS: PayPoint has rolled out new terminal warnings to ensure stores are staying vigilant to fraudsters, following a rise in incidents. The news came after Andrew Board, of Core Convenience Store in Durham, reported a suspicious call from someone asking him to issue vouchers through his system. In response, a spokesperson for the firm said: “We have added an additional warning screen on the terminal when processing some eMoney transactions.”

ALCOHOL: The Scottish government has dropped controversial alcohol-display-ban proposals in response to concern from retailers. The move aimed to restrict the advertisement of alcohol by relegating alcohol lines to gantries behind tills, under the counter or in dedicated space off limits to customers.

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CARD FEES: London district Fed member Kishore Chandarana, of Tara’s Londis in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, urged MPs and regulators to take action to cut card fees at a Parliamentary event. The retailer spoke to Conservative MP Shaun Bailey at an ‘Axe the Card Tax’ event in late March. Chandarana said: “I laid out the impact this is having on shops and customers. Many shops only process utility top-ups via cash because it isn’t feasible to accept card payments due to these costs.”

EGGS: Widespread availability issues with eggs through independent stores are being compounded as one supplier has reportedly prioritised supermarket supply. Jas Sidhu, of Sidhu Stores in Jarrow, south Tyneside, said he had received communication from supplier Lintz Hall Farm giving notice it was terminating supply due to “cost-cutting measures”. Lintz Hall was approached for comment, but failed to respond when Retail Express went to press

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AN independent retailer is refusing to process parcels “larger than a shoe box” in protest against Evri’s commission cuts of nearly 40% last month.

The parcel firm informed stores in March that from 16 April, it was enforcing a “new simplified payment structure”, seeing them earn 20p per parcel, instead of 32p, equating to a 37.5% drop in terms. Stores were left “betrayed”, claiming they would lose hundreds of pounds every month as a result.

In response, one retailer revealed last week they were displaying a poster in store outlining their new parcelsize limits due to the commission cuts.

“The customers understand it’s not our fault,” they said. “We are getting 20p for a parcel no matter the size, and following a couple of noshows from drivers, which left me with nearly 90 parcels at times, I can’t afford to have huge parcels take up space in my store when I’m earning so much less.”

They added: “I’ve not heard anything from Evri, despite trying to have a conversation with them to understand why they have dropped the commission by so much.”

At the time of the cuts, Atul Sodha, owner of Londis Harefield, said: “It already feels like we are being shafted at a time when costs are going up. These companies are just trying to find ways to squeeze retailers.”

Shahid Ali, owner of Nisa Local in Aberdeen, said he debated dropping the service. “We will review it against our full-month payments, and then decide what to do.”