The new Scottish deposit return scheme (DRS) that aims to increase recycling rates and reduce fly-tipped waste for drink bottles could create an unlawful trade barrier with the rest of the UK, which is yet to begin work on its own DRS.
The DRS in Scotland aims to introduce a 20p deposit on single-use drinks bottles and cans, where every producer based in Scotland will have to add that charge which will then be passed onto the consumer, who could claim the deposit back once the drinks bottle or can was returned at a vending machine or a designated return point.
Since the publication of the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations SSI 2020/154, many organisations have been critical of the scheme, saying that the scheme will not be ready to launch in August 2023, due to a lack of necessary infrastructure which would cause disruption for producers and increased prices for consumers.
Additionally, a leading lawyer in Scotland, Aidan O'Neill KC, said that there are many "well-founded" concerns that the scheme would create a trade barrier between Scotland and the rest of UK because the prices in Scotland for the same products would differ from the prices in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, where the DRS will not be operational until 2025, contrary to the UK Internal Market Act 2020.
Additionally, a warning was issued that the Regulations could not be enforced if the single-use packaged drinks that are imported into Scotland from elsewhere in the UK. According to Mr O'Neill, the Scottish government was warned about these legal issues in 2020, soon after the Regulations were published but were not yet fully in force. These concerns, however, were not fully addressed yet.
Speaking with BBC Scotland, Fiona MacEachern, co-founder of Loch Lomond Brewery said: "We know we need to get to Net Zero. We know businesses need to make changes. But the Deposit Return Scheme is just too complicated for smaller firms. They're not listening to smaller business. They're listening to bigger business."
She added: "This is one of the most difficult schemes of its type in the world, which makes it one of the most expensive and most difficult to negotiate. We still don't have all the answers we need to complete everything. It's not a simple process.
"We need another 18 months to let the system settle down, before smaller businesses are involved."
