After Westminster refused to approve the inclusion of glass, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) of the Scottish government may be abandoned.
Glass and other single-use items will have a surcharge added to their cost as part of the DRS; this surcharge will be removed when the items are recycled.
However, the UK government claimed that this would diverge too much from its own plan, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2025.
The circular economy minister for the Scottish government, Lorna Slater, has referred to this as an effort to thwart the plans.
She claimed that it made "no sense" to not include glass in plans in a statement to the parliament.
The program was initially scheduled to launch in Scotland in July of last year, but due to concerns about its implementation from numerous businesses that would be impacted, it was twice postponed.
By 2025, the United Kingdom government intends to implement its own deposit return program in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The exclusion of glass is the primary difference between the two proposals, other than the timeline.
Similar to the Scottish plans, the scheme will raise the price of a single-use bottle or can by 20p, which will be refunded to customers who return it to a retailer or establishment that sells single-use products.
The program will only accept steel and aluminum cans, polyethylene terephthalate (plastic) bottles, and these materials in England and Northern Ireland.
Wales has listed glass inclusion in its proposals but has not yet requested or been granted an exception from the Internal Market Act to enable this.
Concerns that various schemes would inadvertently erect trade barriers in various regions of the UK necessitate an exemption to the Internal Markets Act.
The controversy has prompted debate over whether the plan should move forward without glass to avoid further postponement.
In support of a UK-wide DRS, the British Soft Drinks Association claimed that it was the only "viable option.".
Glass recycling can be improved without a DRS., according to British Glass, an association that represents glass manufacturers in the UK.
The group posted on social media that kerbside collections could be improved in Scotland and that the UK-wide EPR (extended producer responsibility) could lead to even higher glass recycling rates. These measures are part of the Circular Economy Bill, which is expected to be passed soon.
Without using glass in a DRS., Wales has already accomplished this.
Wales had the highest recycling performance in the UK in 2022, recycling 67 percent of its municipal waste.
Currently, it is the duty of local authorities in Scotland to recycle.
By council area, recycling services vary. For all types of recycling, some offer kerbside collection, but others argue that this is too expensive.
The purple bin, which is emptied every eight weeks by Glasgow City Council, provides kerbside glass collection for homes but not for apartments.
East Renfrewshire has a monthly grey bin collection, while glass is collected in much smaller hand-held bins in Edinburgh.
Because of the impending implementation of the DRS, West Lothian Council does not provide kerbside collection.
To dispose of glass, locals are urged to use bottle banks and recycling facilities. The reason the service is not provided, according to the council, is the high cost of infrastructure, such as purchasing new bin lorries to provide this service.
Kerbside glass collection is not provided by the Highland Council or Argyll and Bute.
According to estimates from the Scottish government, 63 percent of glass bottles in Scotland were recycled in 2020.
