Scotland will not include glass in deposit return scheme, wellbeing economy secretary confirms

Scotland will not include glass in the deposit return scheme (DRS) which is due to go live across the UK in 2027, a minister has confirmed.

Wellbeing economy secretary Mairi McAllan said glass would not be included on day one of the scheme, due to the UK Government’s opposition to it.

The Scottish Government was planning on introducing its own DRS ahead of the rest of the UK in 2023, but was forced to change its plans when UK ministers used the Internal Market Act (IMA) to rule glass bottles could not be included.

However, the Welsh Government has said it intends to press on with plans to introduce glass ahead of its part of the DRS being introduced.

The company set up to administer the Scottish scheme, Circularity Scotland, collapsed into administration last year.

In recent months ministers around the UK have been working on a four-nations scheme – but this was recently delayed by two years to October 2027.

Under the scheme, shoppers are charged a deposit when buying drinks in cans and bottles which is then returned to them when they bring the empty container back for recycling.

In a letter to Holyrood’s Net Zero Committee, McAllan reiterated her disappointment in the latest delay to the UK scheme.

She said: “Since the UK Government continues to use the IMA to block the implementation of devolved policy and has indicated it does not anticipate granting an exclusion to any nation on this matter, we have no choice but to launch a more limited DRS than Parliament voted for to ensure that we can still realise the benefits from DRS.

“Therefore, we have agreed to commence a DRS in Scotland without glass on day one, assuming this remains the position across all nations of the UK.”

She added: “We remain committed to delivering deposit return schemes that are interoperable across each nation in the UK, and in light of the undermining of devolution represented by the Internal Market Act, Scotland will align with the delayed UK launch date.”

Campaigners questioned the Scottish Government’s decision.

Dr Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), said: “While Westminster should never have interfered with deposit return, this remains a baffling decision.

“If the Welsh Government – equally subject to the Internal Market Act – plans to include glass, there is absolutely no reason why Scotland should not.

“Glass remains the most energy intensive of all materials, and the most costly for our councils to handle, so should therefore be the first to be in a deposit system. There’s still time for a rethink.”