Coronavirus: Deposit return scheme delayed until July 2022

Bottles and cans, as well as plastic drinking bottles will be included in the scheme for Scotland

BBC Bottles generic — Bottles and cans, as well as plastic drinking bottles will be included in the scheme for Scotland

The implementation date for Scotland's deposit return scheme has been delayed by more than a year amid fears of the effects of coronavirus.

The "go-live" date is to be pushed back from April next year to July 2022.

Under the scheme, people will be able to return a container to shops in return for a 20p fee which was paid when the drink was purchased.

The government said the delay would give businesses time to ensure the necessary infrastructure was in place.

Bottle return scheme to be set at 20p

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: "Our deposit return scheme will be the first national scheme of its type operating in the UK.

"By including a wide range of materials, including glass, and setting a deposit of 20p, we are giving the people of Scotland a clear and straightforward way to do their bit for the environment.

"Having listened to the views of stakeholders, I have agreed to extend the 'go-live' date from April 2021 to July 2022."

Automatic recycling machines like this one are found in every supermarket in Denmark and a similar approach is being planned for Scotland

Getty Images recycling Denmark — Automatic recycling machines like this one are found in every supermarket in Denmark and a similar approach is being planned for Scotland

She continued: "This will give businesses more time to prepare their premises for the scheme and crucially, provides flexibility in the immediate term as the whole country prepares to deal with Covid-19 - the impact of which continues to be closely monitored.

"One very important way of achieving our climate targets is in tackling throw-away culture and building a circular economy where our resources are kept in use for as long as possible, and our deposit return scheme is just one part of this."

John Mayhew, the director of the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, criticised the delay, and urged the Scottish government to ensure the scheme was in place by the end of 2021.

"We were concerned enough last year when ministers proposed to delay Scotland's deposit return system until April 2021, more than a decade after the Climate Change Act was passed", he said.

"Today they are trying to delay it a further 15 months to July 2022, which would mean almost five years will have passed between the first minister's announcement and the system launching - and worse, the targets wouldn't even start until 2023."