British Glass disappointed by Scotland’s consultation on DRS

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Recycling Bottles

In a bid to boost recycling rates in Scotland, the Scottish government and Zero Waste Scotland have launched a consultation to gain public opinion on the proposed deposit return scheme (DRS).

British Glass is currently analysing the detail of the Scottish government’s consultation paper and impact assessments on the proposed deposit return scheme, published on the 27 June.

Headlined as tackling plastics pollution, the announcement invites the public to ‘shape a deposit return scheme for drinks containers as a way of reducing plastics pollution’. However the four models which the consultation uses as examples include a variety of non-plastic beverage containers.

British Glass CEO Dave Dalton said:

“Increasing the quality and quantity of waste glass for re-melt is a long-standing priority for British Glass members – so we’ve been engaging with Zero Waste Scotland on these matters for some time.

“However this announcement was somewhat disappointing on two levels. Firstly it conflates increasing recycling, reducing litter and reducing plastic pollution: while clearly related, these do have different underlying causal patterns. Secondly, while we welcome Scotland’s determination to implement solutions we suggest this is a time to work with the other nations, considering the needs of the UK as a whole, rather than to create a stand-alone scheme for Scotland.

“We have already written to Scotland’s Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham outlining our broad concerns.”

British Glass will be working with its members and key stakeholders over the coming weeks to draft a detailed and formal response to the consultation.

 

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Find out more about British Glass work on recycling.