Circularity Scotland and SEPA urge action
DRINKS producers are being urged to get properly prepared for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) now.
The alert comes from official DRS administrator Circularity Scotland and regulator the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Circularity Scotland is hosting a two-day conference on 22 and 23 November in Glasgow to help businesses of every size prepare for the scheme.
And in the meantime, it is offering a raft of advice to drinks makers on how to get ready for DRS, which will come into force next August.
All producers must register before 1 March to be able to sell drinks products in Scotland.
Circularity Scotland can do this for makers, if they register with and appoint it as their scheme administrator. It will be accepting applications from 1 December. Registration directly with SEPA will be possible from 1 January.
SEPA has pointed out that for businesses with an annual turnover of £85,000 or less, or for producers that fill and seal their product on site, there is no registration fee. For all others registering under the scheme, they will need to pay a £365 fee that will have to be renewed every year by the producer.
The DRS regulations do not require producers to change their labels or the barcodes they use on products. But introducing a new barcode for sale in Scotland will help the scheme to be more efficient and cost-effective, as well as ensuring that all containers are easily accounted for.
As a result, the producer fee will be lower for businesses that choose to introduce a new barcode for Scotland.
In addition, producers can choose to add a consumer logo to their products – helping to make it clear that containers are within DRS.
Circularity Scotland is pointing out that drinks makers who appoint it as their scheme administrator will not need to collect bottles and cans themselves.
Instead, it will arrange for logistics partner Biffa to collect containers from thousands of return points nationwide.
Circularity Scotland will also manage the refund of the deposit to retailers and hospitality premises on manufacturers’ behalf. All producers that register with it will pay a producer fee per container to cover the cost of administering the scheme.
Under DRS, from August 2023, everyone who buys drinks sold in single-use containers in Scotland between 50ml and three litres will pay a 20p deposit, which they will get back when they return their bottle or can.
Kath McDowall, SEPA unit manager for DRS, said: “If you’re a drinks producer and you want to sell your products to consumers in Scotland, you need to be registered with SEPA to be part of the scheme.
“If you’re not registered by 1 March then you might not be able to sell your drinks in Scotland after next August.
“We would urge businesses to find out more about registration and what it means for them so they can take action to prepare.”
