First Minister Humza Yousaf announced the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) would be delayed for six months after repeated criticism from industry and politicians. Campaigners have now told the Sunday Mail that only the removal of Circular Economy minister Slater will make the system a success.
She’s been criticised by SNP, Labour and Conservative politicians who claim she has been tone-deaf to the concerns with the scheme and tried to bulldoze it through regardless of business fears. Slater said as recently as three weeks ago that the scheme would not be paused and before Yousaf’s election as First Minister insisted that no leader “with any credibility would seek to delay it”.
Chris Payne, the owner Glasgow-based distillery Shoogle Spirits, said he could be forced to close his business if the scheme goes ahead. He said: “We are all appalled at the way this has been managed by Lorna Slater.
“Her continued obfuscation and poor engagement has continued to alienate industry resulting in poor registration and sign-up. We would highly recommend that the First Minister considers appointing an alternative Minister as the responsible officer for delivering this ambitious scheme and for building the bridges with industry that Lorna Slater has demolished.”
Scottish Hospitality Group spokesman Stephen Montgomery said: “Do I want Lorna Slater to resign? That’s up to her but what I’m saying is that it needs a fresh set of eyes and needs to be led by the major stakeholders - businesses, trade bodies, producers - to see where we can collectively work together to make this scheme workable because we all want that.”
As well as calling for Slater to get the boot campaigners said they believe glass should be removed from the scheme entirely and it should be a UK-wide scheme. Whisky broker and consultant Blair Bowman said: “It has to be UK-wide because it’s just not going to be manageable at all if it’s not.
“Glass has to be removed because we already have high levels of glass recycling. Most successful DRS systems in the world exclude glass especially from wine and spirits. It should exclude all glass, because that would fix a lot of problems.”
Bowman said it had to be led by an organisation which included more small businesses, rather than by Circularity Scotland which is a not-for-profit firm set up by large companies to administer the scheme.
The company has come under fire after it emerged that senior bosses were being paid up to £300,000 a year to be funded through unclaimed 20p deposits and charges to drinks producers to take part in the legally-mandated scheme.
SNP MSP and former Rural Affairs minister Fergus Ewing said businesses wanted an 18-month delay to the scheme and not just six months. He said: “A mere six months has been granted, and it isn’t enough time to sort out the mess.
“I predict yet another delay may occur causing even more wasted expense. The two main asks I hear from businesses are to remove glass from the scheme in line with the UK Government and aligning the Scottish DRS with the UK scheme.
“That would remove many of the main defects. I asked Lorna Slater to do this but she has refused.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Circular Economy Minister is committed to successfully delivering the scheme and will be working closely with businesses. To move forward with certainty the UK Government must stop delaying the long overdue exclusion from the Internal Market Act.
“We will continue to work closely with the UK and devolved governments to make sure our schemes work together as seamlessly as possible. However we are disappointed that the UK Government has chosen to exclude glass from their scheme.
“Including glass makes sense environmentally and Wales has also committed to including it.”
A spokesman for scheme administrators Circularity Scotand questioned the claim that reverse vending machines (RVMs) were liable to breaking down, and said their company’s members “represent more than 95% of the market”.
He said: “No Return Point Operator is required to use an RVM, many will be manual return points. RVMs are used all over the world in highly successful and well-established schemes, this is not new technology and is tried and tested.”
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