The plans set out by Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater were intended to be due in April of 2022, but will aim to boost recycling rates in the country via a deposit set on single-use drinks containers as of August 16^th, 2023.

Containers made of single use PET plastic, steel, aluminium or glass will all be recognised by this project, and will have a 20p deposit that will be returned to tens of thousands of return points through the community at local shops, and more.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said:

“Implementing a scheme on this scale is a massive national undertaking involving tens of thousands of producers and retailers. Given the challenges that the pandemic and Brexit have placed upon these businesses, it is disappointing – but understandable – that the independent review concluded the original start date was no longer feasible,

“Despite calls to water down the scheme by removing materials or waiting for other nations to catch up, we have maintained our ambition and ensured that the scheme will still meet its original target of achieving 90% collection rates by 2024,

“We have also published a clear plan for delivery, with critical milestones on the path to full implementation. These include use of return points on a voluntary basis by retailers from November 2022.

With a target of 90% collection rates on these items by 2024, Lorna Slater continues to state that she believes this is achievable despite the buffer in The Scottish Governments implementation of the scheme. They ensure that they are working within the local community and businesses to provide the benefits of recycling.

Zero Waste Scotland called this scheme a “gamechanger with multiple benefits”, including reduced carbon emissions, more and better recycling, and the removal of up to one third of litter from our streets, according to press releases.

Key milestones for delivery of the scheme include:

by March 2022, Circularity Scotland will have signed contracts with partners to deliver its logistics, operations and IT systems
by August 2022, the public awareness campaign will be launched and counting and sorting centres will start to be built
retailers will start rolling out the return infrastructure in earnest from next summer and we are working with them to start using that infrastructure on a voluntary basis from November 2022.
Orkney will see a community-run return scheme operating in November 2022.
in January 2023, Circularity Scotland and SEPA will begin the process to register producers
in July 2023, there will be end-to-end testing of containers through the system.