Jack implores the PM not to reverse course on the deposit return plan

Woman reuses empty bottles

The deposit return scheme (DRS) in Scotland, according to Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, should not be changed by the UK government's policy.

The exclusion of glass has become a requirement for support from UK ministers.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has stated that if the UK government does not make the required accommodations, the program is in jeopardy.

By Monday, Mr. Yousaf wants to hear back from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about his request to include glass.

He told BBC Scotland that this deadline "effectively" amounted to an order.

Glass containers would be exempt from the DRS, which is scheduled to go into effect in Scotland in March of next year, thanks to a partial exemption granted by the UK government in a letter to the Scottish government last week.

Because the UK government insisted that deposit return policies should be uniform throughout the UK, Glass has been excluded.

Mr. Yousaf has urged the UK government to reconsider, citing, among others, concerns from Tennent's, one of Scotland's largest brewers.

In his letter, he stated that the elimination of glass "fundamentally threatens the viability of Scotland's DRS with reduced revenue for the scheme administrator.".

The removal of glass will significantly affect business. ".

He added that excluding glass would disadvantage businesses in the marketplace in addition to endangering jobs and investment.

Mr. Jack vigorously defended the UK government's stance in an interview on the BBC's The Sunday Show.

"We've provided the exclusion, and there are four requirements in that exclusion," he said. "This permits the schemes to operate throughout the United Kingdom.".

Woman recycles bottles
By returning empty bottles, customers would receive cash from the DRS.

He claimed there would be just one bar code system and that membership in one scheme rather than several schemes would be required, eliminating the need for additional fees.

Because "that's what industry have asked us to do," he continued, "having no glass in the scheme made sense.".

In contrast to the over 1,000 letters of concern, he claimed, "I haven't received a single letter from a business supporting the proposed scheme that Lorna Slater brought forward.". "And it's those worries that we took into consideration when we came to our decision because we think the deposit charge should be the same and applied uniformly across the UK.

"If I get off the train in Carlisle and buy some recyclables, and it costs 10p there and 20p in Dumfries, I make twice as much money.". That doesn't make sense. ".

The drinks industry must not be disrupted, Mr. Jack continued, and internal markets must be protected. According to French wine producers, they won't rebrand their products solely for Scotland's glass market. Since the market was too small, they would sell their wine elsewhere. ".

The British Glass Industry had written to the UK government, he continued, claiming that the plan to crush the glass and spread it on the roads by Circularity Scotland—the program's administrator—was not glass recycling and that it should instead be melted and turned into bottles.

Later on, Circularity Scotland disputed this, claiming the overall claims were "totally inaccurate.".

The company said it had set a high target for remelting glass so that it could be used to make new drinks containers and represents beverage producers, retailers, and trade bodies that support the DRS scheme.

According to a spokesman, Circularity Scotland has consistently stated that the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme has set a target of 90% for the remelting and reuse of glass from the scheme's launch on up to 95% after launch. Any assertions to the contrary are false in every way.

"These allegations have placed a £10 million investment in glass recycling that Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme had planned in grave jeopardy. ".

glass bottles
Glass bottles are one of the things the Scottish government wants to consider.

The Scottish secretary added that there were contamination issues because, if a bottle broke and a shard of less than 10mm was present, it would contaminate all of the recyclables in the bin and have to be disposed of in a landfill.

The Scotch Whisky Association, which claimed that including glass in the program would cost it jobs, was among the beverage industry groups that the UK government listened to, according to Mr. Jack.

Mr. Yousaf mentioned Candamp;C Group, one of the largest brewers in the nation and the maker of Tennent's Lager, in his letter to the prime minister. However, in correspondence Mr. Jack received from the company, it claims to have been "misrepresented.".

Please find enclosed the letter we sent to Humza Yousaf, Scotland's first minister, outlining our position in response to the UK Internal Market announcement made over the weekend, Mr. Jack said, reading a portion of the letter.

"Unfortunately, certain portions of this letter that misrepresented C&C's stance on DRS. were leaked to the media.

C&C Group/Tennent's actively seeks out and supports a UK-wide program that is implemented simultaneously across the four UK nations. ".

The company would be at a "competitive disadvantage with the rest of the UK," according to the letter, and the company "cannot therefore support a stand-alone Scottish DRS that excludes glass.".

Prior to the program's implementation, Circularity Scotland urged the Scottish and UK governments to "get round the table.".

It stated that it had spent about £300 million to create the deposit return program.

According to Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, the UK government will not accept what Humza Yousaf called an "effective" ultimatum in an interview with the BBC.

By Monday, Mr. Yousaf wants the UK government to accept his request to include glass bottles in the Deposit Return Scheme. He claims he has trouble envisioning how it could proceed in any other way.

This week, a decision by the Scottish government regarding the program's future is anticipated.

But given the current state of affairs, it seems unlikely that it will happen as planned in March of next year.

The UK government's stance will be presented by supporters of the Scottish government as an assault on devolution and the authority of Holyrood.

Less the merits or demerits of the plan itself, and more the guiding principle that a plan cannot be implemented without the support of the majority of MSPs, will be at stake.

The UK government, however, would also make a compelling case.

It would contend that it is paying attention to business concerns about the plan and making sure there are no trade barriers in Britain.

Instead of the virtues and vices of the Deposit Return Scheme itself, this narrative has a growing sense of being about constitutional politics.

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