Environmental campaigners have protested outside of a Tesco in Dunfermline after the retail giant was critical of Scotland’s deposit return scheme.
Members of litter picking group Fife Street Champions gathered outside the Duloch store on Wednesday morning with trolleys filled with cans and bottles taken from the streets of the town.
They were joined by campaigners from the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS), who have long campaigned for the controversial scheme.
Tesco has branded the Scottish Government’s planned recycling initiative as “not fit for purpose” and warned that it could lead to higher prices and confuse customers.
The company has also called for Scotland to take part in the UK-wide scheme rather than organise its own.
Fife litter picker finds 180 cans in 90 minutes
David Spence, a volunteer with Fife Street Champions, says he is concerned about further delays to the initiative as the region’s litter problem grows.
He said: “I have first-hand experience of the rubbish that gets left lying about.
“I want to be able to walk the streets without tripping over rubbish”
The 68-year-old, from Glenrothes, believes the recycling scheme would help tackle the “huge problem” of littered bottles and cans.
He and a fellow volunteer collected 180 cans in just an hour-and-a-half in Cullaloe, a nature reserve near Kirkcaldy, last weekend.
He added: “The deposit return scheme wouldn’t solve the issue but it would certainly diminish it.
“I have been part of Fife Street Champions for five years and the problem has worsened in that time – particularly with the proliferation of fast food takeaways.”
The Scottish Government’s return scheme will see shoppers charged a 20p deposit every time they buy a drink in a can or a glass or plastic bottle, with that cash given back to them when the empty containers are returned for recycling.
It is due to launch next year, while the UK Government’s will start in late 2025.
In a new report, Tesco said that “multiple different approaches within the UK jeopardises the sustainability and viability of schemes and a joined-up approach across the UK must be adopted.”
But ARPS claims that the delays to the scheme so far have resulted in 2.7 billion drinks containers being littered, landfilled, or incinerated, and almost 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions being released into the atmosphere.
Kat Jones, director of APRS said: “Everyone is trying to make changes to address the waste we produce and ensure a more sustainable Scotland.
‘Supermarkets have a responsibility to encourage sustainability’
“However, some, such as supermarkets, have far greater responsibility in doing so.
“At this stage, calling for further delays to the Scottish deposit return scheme is a betrayal of our environment.
“A deposit return scheme is a key circular economy policy which aims to address litter and waste.”
Tesco has been approached for comment.
