SOME eight out of ten Scots want glass to remain in a DRS system, a new poll has revealed today.
Over three quarters went on to say glass bottles should also be added to the deposit return schemes in England and Northern Ireland.
The poll was commissioned by international campaign group Nature 2030.
This follows the country’s First Minister Humza Yousaf announcing in April that Scotland’s deposit return scheme will now be implemented on 1 March 2024 rather than August this year.
Scotland’s scheme was seen as the leading model planned in the UK by environmental campaigners due to the inclusion of glass and a variable deposit.
Survation polled 1009 members of the Scottish public aged 18 and over between 27th April – 3rd May 2023.
A DRS scheme is set to be implemented in 2025 in England, Wales Northern Ireland.
In the UK more than 30 percent of glass is not recycled.
Whitehall sparked outrage amongst environmental campaigners last year when it revealed glass bottles would be excluded from the scheme in England and Northern Ireland.
In contrast schemes planned for Wales and Scotland are set to include glass.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack hinted in March that the UK government might not grant an opt-out to exclude the Scottish scheme from the Internal Market Act.
This threat to the scheme comes alongside lobbying from the glass industry in Scotland to remove the material from any future scheme, campaigners claim.
Capturing 90% of the glass bottles in the scope of the scheme would enable Scotland to recycle 504 million glass bottles each year.
Campaigners believe an ‘all-in’ scheme with a variable deposit is key to tackling Britain’s waste crisis.
They argue a comprehensive scheme capturing as many materials as possible will be easier for consumers to understand and is the most effective model for reducing waste.
A previous poll from Nature 2030 in January found strong support for glass inclusion with some 75 percent of Britons wanting glass bottles urgently reinstated in the Government’s proposed deposit return scheme in England & Northern Ireland.
Steve Hynd, Policy Manager, City to Sea:
“As we have seen south of Scotland’s borders, delay is the precursor to a reduction of policy into a piecemeal offering that fails to protect our environment.”
“I not only urge Hamza Yousaf to not crumble to those who wish to side-line circularity for profit, I urge the remaining nations of the United Kingdom to match Scotland’s DRS; include glass, ensure a variable deposit, accelerate implementation.”
Jo Royle, Founder of Common Seas said:
“Deposit Return Schemes must include all materials across all four nations in the UK if we are to tackle Britain’s waste crisis.”
“Every year enough litter to fill four Wembley Stadiums is collected. This costs almost £1 billion in clean-up bills nationally.”
“To stop polluting waste reaching our oceans and natural environments an inclusive DRS must be deployed across the British Isles.”
Dominic Dyer, Chair, Nature 2030:
“It’s clear that the British population want to see glass included in the four nation’s DRS plans and the planet needs it.”
“Until now, Scotland has been an outlier within the UK, a model to replicate. The delay brings cause for concern that Scotland will be dragged back into an English model of DRS that fails to protect nature and fails to satisfy the demands of the public.”
"Scotland must continue to lead the way on recycling."
Responding to news that Scotland will delay introduction of its Deposit Return Scheme until March 2024, Co-founder of A Plastic Planet, Sian Sutherland said:
“Deposit return schemes are used successfully all over Europe, and encourage people to think of their containers as something that lives on beyond their own consumption.”
“By the time we actually introduce DRS in the UK at large, brands and retailers will have leapfrogged to even simpler systems of pre-filled reusable standardised packaging.”