BIFFA is urging businesses selling drink to prepare now for the upcoming launch of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
In August 2023, Scotland will become the first UK nation to implement a DRS, which encourages consumers to recycle drinks containers, such as bottles and cans.
Scheme adminsitrator Circularity Scotland secured an £18 million investment in May from the Scottish National Investment Bank and Bank of Scotland to set up the DRS, before announcing waste management company Biffa as the official logistics provider – with the company investing £80m in the project.
Businesses will need to charge a refundable deposit of 20p on all drinks containers sold in Scotland, to be refunded to consumers upon return. This will apply to all single-use PET plastic, aluminium, steel, or glass drinks containers ranging in size from 50ml to 3l containers.
Biffa explained there are expected to be around 30,000 return points in Scotland.
Carla Brian, Biffa’s DRS commercial lead, said, “If your business sells a single-use drinks container, this legislation change affects you and your business as part of the Deposit Return Scheme – it’s not optional, and businesses of all sizes are affected.”
DRS is not just applicable to Scottish businesses either; any business importing and selling containers on the Scottish market must take part. England and other UK nations are expected to announce consultation on their DRS plans in due course.
All retailers must operate as a take-back point, whether operating either as a manual return or using a reverse vending machine, but an RVM is not essential. Operating as a manual take-back point means retailers will need to accept containers from consumers over the counter, before returning the 20p deposit to the consumer.
There are exemptions which are available to businesses. These are:
- Proximity exemption – if you are within 400m of another return point
- Environmental health exemption – where premises are not suitable
- Voluntary return point
Biffa added that it has been working with businesses in preparation for DRS go live in 2023, one of which is a trial at Glasgow Airport. The company launched a trial in November where return points were placed throughout the airport within close proximity of retailers selling in-scope materials. Despite recycling bins still in situ at the airport, Biffa RVMs resulted in over 2,000 containers being collected.
The company explained that if this approach was adopted at go live, this would mean all retailers would be able to apply for the proximity exemption and the airport would become the host return point for the site.
For businesses selling drinks containers for on-site consumption only, the DRS operates slightly differently – also known as closed loop hospitality return points. Hospitality businesses can choose whether to pass the deposit on to consumers. If deposits are passed onto consumers, businesses will need to operate as an open return point. However, many are looking to not pass the deposit on and operate as a closed loop hospitality site where drinks containers are consumed on site and stored for collection by Biffa.
Online retailers must also operate a take-back service direct from the location that delivery takes place. Biffa is supporting existing customers to operate and facilitate the service on their behalf, and can offer the same for other businesses.
Carla Brian added, “The Deposit Return Scheme offers a unique opportunity to revolutionise the way we recycle in the UK. Businesses will see themselves hitting sustainability goals that were previously unachievable with a large increase in the amount of their products entering the circular economy.
“We could see a shift in consumers’ purchase habits as we become more aware of the number of single-use containers being used every day, encouraging the Scottish public to buy larger containers rather than multiple smaller ones, reducing our single-use plastic, glass and metal consumption.
“Now is the perfect time for businesses to begin their preparation; the scheme launches in under one year’s time. Registering for updates from Circularity Scotland is the most important step businesses can take right now.”
