Could Bottle Deposit harm our Breweries?

DRS is the Deposit Return Scheme. It is a recycling scheme being introduced in Scotland. Anyone who buys a single use drinks container (glass, can or plastic) will pay an additional 20p for their drink and will receive 20p back when they return it to a return point.

We love sustainability and we love the idea of DRS! Some other countries, including Germany, are doing this and it makes a significant impact on the amount of containers that get recycled. However, the implementation of DRS in Scotland is complicated and lacking clarity. Although drink producers are legally required to sign on to the scheme by the end of February 2023, there is a lack of information about how some critical parts are going to work. This is especially troubling when breweries are required to pay significant upfront costs in order to sponsor it.

Small businesses have been trying to get clarification for the past two years by lobbying both the Scottish Government and the industry led company appointed to administer the scheme, Circularity Scotland Ltd (or CSL). However, CSL was created by organisations who sell over 10 Million containers into Scotland annually, this was directed by the legislation, and there has been a frustrating refusal to acknowledge the disproportionately prohibitive financial and physical impacts of how the scheme, as it currently stands, will impact small businesses.

The costs and uncertainty involved are already causing some craft breweries and small batch distilleries to close down, and could lead to many more following suit if it goes forward in it’s current state. The scheme will also have a significant impact on consumer choice in Scotland as companies elect to withdraw their products.

Giving small businesses an 18 month grace period to enter the scheme would be an enormous help. If you are also worried about the impact of the current DRS implementation, we would urge you to contact Richard Lochhead at richard.lochhead.msp@parliament.scot and tell him you love your local craft breweries and want an extension for small businesses to join the scheme.

The following articles have more information about the scheme:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001j8tt   (from 1:45-22:43)

https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/food-and-drink/weve-taken-the-decision-to-withdraw-from-scotland-uk-companies-on-scottish-deposit-return-scheme-disaster-4023384

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64616887