A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland

We sought your views on the best approach to deliver a deposit return scheme for Scotland that would achieve the following principles:

•  increase the quantity of target materials captured for recycling
• improve the quality of material captured, to allow for higher value recycling
• encourage wider behaviour change in the use of materials
• deliver maximum economic and societal benefit for Scotland.

 The consultation sought feedback on eleven components that will comprise a well- designed and effective system:

•  What materials will be collected
• What types of products will have a deposit on them
• Where you will be able to get the deposit back
• How the scheme will be paid for
• How the scheme is communicated so everyone understands it
• How to prevent fraud in the system
• How much the deposit should be
• What infrastructure to put in place, and the logistics involved
• How to create additional benefits from the scheme
• Who owns the system
• How the system is regulated

The consultation received 3,215 responses. This comprised responses from 159 organisations, 2,008 individuals and 1,048 campaign respondents.

 There was widespread agreement amongst both organisational and individual respondents that a well-run and appropriately targeted DRS could provide opportunities in relation to improving the environment, changing people’s attitudes to recycling and littering, and building the circular economy. In relation to the design and operation of the scheme, there was a range of areas in which respondents (both organisations and individuals) expressed a large degree of consensus, and other areas where there was some divergence.

 A key point is that there was support for a scheme that included the widest range of materials possible. However, organisations (and especially food and drink producers, retailers, and recycling and waste management organisations) were much more likely than individuals to favour a scheme which targeted a more limited set of materials – PET plastic, metal cans and, to a lesser extent, glass. Furthermore, there was widespread agreement that the scheme should use either a model based on take-back to a place that sells drinks, or a mixture of take-back and designated drop-off.  Responses indicated support for a deposit in excess of 15p to ensure the system is effective and provides the right incentive to encourage recycling.  A number of cross-cutting themes were identified, including the need for the scheme to be as accessible as possible, including strong communications; that it should be seen as part of wider work on producer responsibility; and that any design developed should be evidence based.

We have commissioned independent analysis of the consultation responses, and have published the final report of the analysis here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-analysis-responses/

 We have also published those responses where consent has been given to publish, which can be found here:

 The feedback and evidence from the consultation has been fed into the on-going design work of a deposit return scheme for Scotland. We will announce next steps on this shortly.