The Scottish Parliament

Chamber and committees

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme

In Session 2021-2016, the Scottish Parliament legislated to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single-use drinks containers but ultimately delayed its introduction and determined to proceed jointly with other UK nations.

Aims of the DRS are to:

reduce litter and greenhouse gas emissions

increase recycling

shift costs of recovery of drinks containers away from local authorities and on to producers.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee scrutiny

In March 2023, the Committee agreed to take evidence on the DRS. It agreed to hear from the Scottish Government and the then scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd. The aim was to understand more about the scheme's readiness ahead of its launch and to understand progress in implementing the scheme.

The initial launch date was July 2022. However, the Scottish Government introduced secondary legislation to delay the scheme's launch to August 2023, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and EU exit as reasons.

The launch was then delayed to March 2024. In a letter to the Convener, the then Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity said the UK Government's decision to grant only a temporary and partial exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act made the scheme 'unworkable'.

The Scottish Government then legislated for a revised launch date of 1 October 2025. Finally, the Scottish Parliament agreed to a launch in October 2027, under a joint scheme with England and Northern Ireland.

Timeline

13 May 2020
approved by the Scottish Parliament allowing for the proposed DRS to launch on 1 July 2022.

15 December 2021
laid in the Scottish Parliament with the purpose to delay the scheme’s launch until 16 August 2023.

23 February 2022
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2022 approved by the Scottish Parliament.

14 March 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.

28 March 2023
Committee evidence session with senior executives of Circularity Scotland Ltd.

18 April 2023
The Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity wrote to the Convener giving details of the Scottish Government’s intention to delay the Scheme’s launch to 1 March 2024 – to allow “for confirmation of the Internal Market Act exclusion, resolution of outstanding operational issues and extensive testing of IT and logistic systems.”

17 May 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2023 laid in the Scottish Parliament with the purpose to delay the scheme’s launch until 1 March 2024.

9 June 2023

The Minister again wrote to the Convener notifying a proposed delay to October 2025 – citing issues of interoperability across the UK and securing an exclusion from the Internal Market Act.

13 June 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.

28 June 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2023 approved by the Scottish Parliament – delaying the launch of the scheme until 1 March 2024.

30 June 2023
Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2023 laid in Scottish Parliament – to delay the scheme to October 2025.

26 September 2023
Committee evidence session with the Scottish Government.

25 October 2023

Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2023 approved by the Scottish Parliament, delaying DRS launch to October 2025.

2 May 2024

Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy writes to Convener to announce delay of DRS launch to October 2025, to pursue a scheme interoperable across the four UK nations. The letter expresses frustration that the UK Government has used legislation on the UK internal market to “block the implementation of devolved policy”.

June 18 2025

The Parliament approves the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Amendment Regulations 2025 and the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Designation of Scheme Administrator) Order 2025 which:

Moves the DRS launch date to October 2027;
Amends the DRS regulations to align them with DRS regulations launching at the same time England and Northern Ireland. This includes removing single-use glass drinks containers from the scheme. (Wales now intends to go its own way with a scheme that does include glass);
Appoint a scheme administrator (the same as for England and Northern Ireland).

Meetings

DRS proposals were discussed at these Committee meetings:

Correspondence

The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:

Chamber and committees

Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee scrutiny

Timeline

Meetings

14 March 2023 (9th Meeting)

28 March 2023 (11th Meeting)

13 June 2023 (21st Meeting)

26 September 2023 (27th Meeting)

27 May 2025 (19th Meeting)

Correspondence