Scotland

Name of Program	The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 [1]
Date Implemented	Planned October 2027 (with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) [2]
Containers Covered	All single-use containers between 100 mL and 3 L made of the following materials: PET Plastic Steel Aluminium
Containers Not Covered	Containers made of the following materials Mixed material pouches Cartons HDPE Cups
Fees and Taxes	TBD
Refundable Deposit	20p
Unclaimed deposits	Kept by system administrators to fund redemption scheme [3]
Handling Fees	TBD
Redemption System	Return to retailer (including remote sales) and designated return points
Program Success	N/A

Details

On September 5, 2017, the Scottish Government released The Programme for Government 2017 to 2018, which set out a roadmap for the country to work towards supporting a healthy business environment, improving public services, navigating the then-ongoing Brexit political situation, and working towards fighting tackling change. As part of their pledge to promote a truly circular economy, the Programme announced the creation of a deposit scheme for the entirety of Scotland, collaborating with Zero Waste Scotland to help design the scheme and coordinate with stakeholders. [4]

The measure is aimed at increasing recycling and tackling litter and was announced alongside the establishment of an expert panel to consider fiscal and other measures, like a levy on single-use cups.

The Scottish government opened consultations for feedback on how to develop a planned deposit return scheme to the public, running from September 25, 2018 to June 27, 2018. Responses came from organizations, individuals and campaign respondents. Preliminary details regarding the scheme were published in May 2019 after consultation closed, analyzing the feedback. [5]

An independent analysis of the consultation responses was presented to Parliament on September 10, 2019, with a set of proposed regulations for how the deposit scheme should function. [6] Specific guidelines included:

Refundable 20p deposit on single-use containers made of PET plastic, steel, aluminum, and glass.
"Return to any retailer selling drinks covered by the scheme." This includes online retailers.
Return points will be available, including recycling centers.
Target redemption percentage goals set for the first three years of the deposit scheme.

After finalizing regulations in March 2020, the Scottish Government voted to approve the Deposit Scheme Regulations on May 14, 2020. [7] In March 2021, Circularity Scotland, a newly-created non-profit comprised of industry stakeholders, was later announced to be in charge of administering the scheme, under the supervision of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). [8] The scheme was initially expected to be implemented in July 2022, with rolling revisions prior to the full implementation to prepare retailers. Retailers were allowed to voluntarily apply to accept containers starting in November 2022. However, the scheme was postponed to August 16, 2023 in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact. With this plan, the government expected the scheme to meet its 90% recovery goal in 2024. [9] Ahead of the scheme's full implementation, an early voluntary scheme began in the Orkney Islands on November 4, 2022 and plans to run until March 2024. [10] The pilot does not redeem deposits but instead each container redeemed generates a donation to charity.

In April 2023, the UK Government imposed a number of significant restrictions on Scotland's deposit scheme. Some restrictions included the removal of glass, excluding containers under 100 ml, excluding products under 5,000 units per year, as well as excluding hospitality retailers where most drinks are consumed on site. The UK Government required Scotland's scheme to align with schemes across the UK. Ministers determined that Scotland's deposit system needed the UK government to publish more details and cannot go forward until they do. Consequently, on June 7, 2023, it was announced that the launch of Scotland's DRS will be delayed until at least October 2025. [11]

In May 2024, it was announced that the launch of Scotland's DRS will be further delayed until October 2027, in conjunction with the other UK nations of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. [12]