The UK government has been accused of attempting to thwart Scotland’s bottle return program by a Scottish minister. Westminster suggested that the plan could proceed only if glass bottles were excluded. Lorna Slater, the Scottish government minister in charge of implementing the deposit return scheme (DRS), stated that Holyrood will have to recalibrate the program’s practicality. The DRS aims to increase the recycling of single-use bottles and cans. From March next year, Scottish consumers will pay an extra 20 pence for soft drink containers made of PET plastic, metal, or glass, and get the money back when returning them to a store. The remaining UK is building a comparable program, but the unified DRS, which will cover England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, will exclude glass bottles and be launched in 2025. Various programs would lead to the same goods being sold at varying rates throughout the UK, and products sold in Scotland may require varying markings and barcodes. Concerned about a trade blockage in the UK, Scottish ministers postponed the scheme’s launch from August of this year until March of next year and pursued an exemption from the UK Interior Market Act. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf used Twitter to complain that “after spending the day briefing the press, the UK Government sent us a letter at 9.45 p.m. tonight.” Slater also expressed frustration about receiving the letter outlining the UK Government’s decision “more than 12 hours after its contents being briefed to press,” accusing Westminster of “treating the Scottish Parliament with contempt.”
Scotland’s bottle return scheme sabotaged by UK government.
