WITH just over two years until the UK introduces a national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), a new Scotland-based consultancy has been launched to help guide companies – and countries – through the complexities of designing and operating environmental measures.
DRS International aims to advise on and create solutions for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where producers become financially liable for the cost of packaging waste. Its initial focus will be on DRS.
The team, put together by executive chairman Bill Power, has already advised in five countries, including the Republic of Ireland and Romania on DRS. DRS International is now believed to be the largest consultancy of its kind in the world.
The launch comes as concerns grow around single-use containers. Some 31 billion bottles and cans are consumed annually in the UK and, of these, an estimated 7.5 billion are not recycled and go to waste or are thrown away.
CEO of DRS International is Donald McCalman, formerly programme director of Circularity Scotland, who led the implementation of Scotland’s DRS before it was postponed in the face of political hurdles.
Donald said, “As well as the environmental benefits that DRS brings, there is also an uplifting effect on society generally as a result of cutting down dramatically on the amount of litter on our streets and public spaces. This was an issue which resonated strongly with people when we were hiring our teams and was a significant factor in the rationale for pushing ahead with a DRS in Scotland.”
The new venture’s director of operations will be Gordon McGuigan, who has more than 10 years’ senior management experience within the waste and recycling sector and more recently spent four years as a DRS consultant, with interim COO roles for the Romanian and Irish schemes.
He added, “With the UK scheme coming round the corner and other schemes in Europe set to go live in coming years we feel confident we can deploy more teams into ever growing schemes and do our part to guide them to success. And we also have the skills and experience to help more mature schemes react to the ever changing regulatory and consumer landscape they face.”
As well as outsourcing and consultancy solutions, DRS International will offer IT expertise, which will be delivered by John Player, who has more than 30 years of IT experience working for companies ranging from large multi-nationals to small businesses. He has led the design and implementation of DRS systems, defining end-to-end IT solutions from inception and establishing internal delivery teams to supporting successful execution.
He said, “Our system is built by DRS people for DRS people. It’s for those running a DRS or about to start a DRS, to assist them in enhancing their data and making decisions quickly as things change and regulations change.”
Executive chairman Bill Power said, “For many years the cost of dealing with the environmental impact of products and packaging has been borne by society and is not included in the cost of manufacture to the producer. EPR and DRS schemes are designed to place greater responsibility on the producers of those products and packaging for the reduction of that environmental impact throughout the lifecycle.
“DRS International aims to guide operators (who are typically appointed by producers) from initial design to performance improvement, and from technical consultancy to implementation. The new consultancy offers a highly experienced core team with direct design and delivery experience in schemes across the world, supported by a network of associates who have worked directly within various schemes.
“I hope to measure the impact of my career by the hundreds of billions of containers that will be recycled by schemes advised by DRS International in the future.”
