Food and Drink Federation Scotland and members comments on Deposit Return Scheme

David Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Food and Drink Federation Scotland said:

“We welcome today’s confirmation that a UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme will be put in place – this will play an important part in achieving Scotland’s circular economy ambitions. Drinks containers will be able to be recycled and used again more efficiently and easily, this is good news for our environment, our businesses, and our people.

“It’s critical that the Scottish Government and governments across the UK work closely together to ensure the scheme is a success. It needs to be easy to use and understand, operate under the same rules and with the same labels across the four nations. A consistent, UK-wide approach is the best way to ensure value for money and to achieve a circular economy.”

Paul Graham, Managing Director, Great Britain, Britvic plc said:

“Britvic has long advocated for an aligned, well-designed deposit return scheme in the UK because we believe it can deliver a truly circular economy, and ensure that great packaging never becomes waste. This announcement takes us closer to achieving this goal. We encourage everyone to play their part in building on this progress towards a fully interoperable scheme, so that collectively we can finally maximise the environmental benefits of DRS in the UK.”

Dusan Stojankic, Coca-Cola, Vice-President, Great Britain and Ireland said:

“At Coca-Cola, we want to recycle every single can and bottle we put onto the market and today’s announcement is a huge step towards the well-designed deposit return schemes that will help us achieve just that. To make sure DRS is a success, we must have truly interoperable schemes in place across England, Scotland and Wales. We call on all parties and governments to work together to ensure that the schemes move forward with pace and with consistency of materials in scope. Having a common approach will ensure we have a best-in class system in place – and is the only way we will improve the circular economy and cut litter.”

Carol Robert, Chief Operating Officer, Suntory Beverage & Food Great Britain and Ireland:

“The rest of Europe has moved with the times to create a circular economy for drinks containers, so it’s only right that the stopwatch starts again in the UK’s race to build an effective Deposit Return Scheme. As well as long term benefits such as reduced litter and increased recycling rates, a DRS is also a critical step for businesses, and the UK, to achieve net zero.

We’ve seen a positive start for Ireland’s DRS and it is now essential that we work on an interoperable UK-wide approach with detailed, prescriptive and consistent DRS regulations. SBF GB&I has been poised on the starting line and we’re ready to give our full backing to make DRS a reality and a contributor to our goal of achieving 100% sustainable packaging by 2030.”