The Scottish Government’s deposit return scheme could have a serious impact on the country’s glass recycling, experts have warned.
The Scottish Parliament’s environment, climate change and land reform committee has called for the government to introduce a minimum 20p “refund” on returns, which could in effect add £4.80 on to a crate of beer.
It’s report into the scheme claims there will be a “real and lasting impact on tackling climate change”.
The glass industry, breweries, soft-drinks manufacturers and wholesalers and retailers have all previously raised concerns about the scheme and the harm it could cause.
One glass industry insider said the scheme had not been properly thought through and it is incorrect to think it was like the old, “nostalgic” bottle return schemes of the past.
A spokeswoman for the UK glass industry said: “We have raised our concerns previously and are disappointed these appear not to have been put forward in the report.
“This scheme will have an impact on recycling processes in Scotland.
“For one, the reverse-vending machines being proposed are around a tenth of the size of regular glass recycling receptacles and we know how frequently these can fill up, especially during warm summer bank holiday weekends and the festive period.
“These will need to be collected ten times more often than the regular recycling bins, which are emptied on average twice per week.
“This return scheme is not like the ‘old days’, where you would return bottles of soft-drinks to be refilled. The glass being collected is still going to go to recycling, but this new process is going to severely impact on that.”
The committee has asked the Scottish Government for more information on the reverse vending machines in its report.
Committee convenor, SNP MSP Gillian Martin, said: “There is no doubting the ambition behind the introduction of the deposit return scheme in Scotland.
“And it is clear from those we heard from across the country that there is support for the scheme and its aims to help meet the challenging climate change targets and address the problems of litter, particularly in our marine environment.
“But for this scheme to be effective, we need to ensure that this operates in a way that is understandable and easy to use for the public and businesses alike.
“We support the initial focus of the scheme but have today asked the government to ensure we can add materials to the scheme, in a phased way, so it is as wide-ranging as possible.
“We have also heard from many businesses about their concerns about how this will operate in practice. We believe the Scottish Government needs to listen to these concerns and we have asked for more information on the operation of the scheme before this is rolled out.”
