Seòmar agus comataidhean

I do not have that information.

That might not be the case. I am not aware of those discussions, but I can certainly find out and write to the member on that matter.

There is absolute consensus on that.

I welcome the opportunity to address the committee on Scotland’s deposit return scheme. When we launch the DRS on 16 August, the scheme will be among the most environmentally ambitious and accessible in Europe. It will increase recycling rates from 50 per cent to 90 per cent, reduce littering on our streets by one third, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4 million tonnes over 25 years.

We are at an advanced stage of preparation for launch, with much of the infrastructure for the scheme already in place. Approximately £300 million of private investment has been made, counting and sorting centres are being created, vehicle fleets have been ordered and recruitment is under way.

As at 10 March, 671 producers, across the full range of drink producers—from global brands to small craft breweries and distilleries—representing 95 per cent of the total volume of drinks containers sold in Scotland each year, have completed registration for the DRS with Circularity Scotland. I am delighted that so many producers have already stepped up to the challenge to take responsibility for the waste that they produce.

The scheme will also create 500 jobs across the country, with 140 new jobs at a recycling plant in Motherwell and 70 jobs in Aberdeen already announced. This month, we have also seen the launch of registration for return point operators. That includes supermarkets, local shops and other outlets where customers can return their empty containers and reclaim their deposit.

We previously updated guidance and support to make it easier and quicker for retailers that wish to apply for an exemption from being a return point to do so. That was in response to direct feedback from retailers—particularly smaller retailers. Exemptions can be sought on the grounds of proximity, where agreement has been made with other nearby return points, and on environmental health grounds—for example, if there is not space to store returned containers.

I recently wrote to the convener of the committee to provide an update on the work that has been undertaken to secure an exclusion from the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. As set out in that letter, UK Government ministers acknowledged that the Scottish Government has followed the agreed process at all times.

I take this opportunity to again confirm that we have been following the agreed and established process between the UK Government and devolved Governments for excluding certain areas from the internal market act since 2021. We expect a decision from the UK Government as soon as possible, and I will continue to keep the committee updated.

I will continue to work collaboratively with Circularity Scotland and businesses as they finalise their operational delivery plans and as we move closer to the launch of the DRS in August. I welcome the opportunity to assist the committee in its considerations, and I look forward to questions.

That is indefinite, in that any business that wants to sell in Scotland in any particular year needs to be signed up by 1 March of that year. For the first year of the scheme, we are allowing late applications to support businesses to come online with it.

Any businesses that are not registered in time for the scheme launch will not be able to supply in Scotland, so we encourage them to get going. However, in future years, when new start-up businesses in Scotland wish to sell in the Scottish market, they will also need to apply for the scheme. As new businesses come into the Scottish market, they can sign up for the scheme, on an on-going basis, so that they can sell in Scotland.

I believe that the regulations have that March deadline every year. That is to allow time for businesses to be operationally included. However, for this year, I believe that late applications will still be accepted.

The intention is not to be punitive to businesses. Businesses need to sign up for the scheme. They need to give the information about how many products they have and the labelling, so that there is time to programme the reverse-vending machines. When you take your bottle or can back, the machine will scan the barcode and say, “Yes, you bought this in Scotland, it is a scheme article, so here’s your 20p back.” The point of registration is for businesses to say, “Here are my barcodes and here are my products,” so that we can then programme all the vending machines in Scotland to be able to take those back. The reason why there is a deadline is to allow time for that work to be done. That is why businesses need to register as soon as possible—so that their barcodes can be registered with the machines.

That is what we are looking at—understanding the barriers to registration.

Some small producers have asked us to consider a grace period. That would not be a grace period for registration, so they still need to register but, hypothetically, a grace period for implementation. There are some big challenges with that. It might not be fair to medium-sized producers or the small producers that have signed up. Therefore, we need to take a step back again. We know that hundreds of small producers have signed up, so this barrier is clearly not universal. For the businesses that have not signed up, we need to look at what their challenges are and make sure that we are putting in place the right measures to help them get on board.

That is correct. That is normal for such schemes.

Absolutely. It will be able to get into the nitty-gritty of that.

The member is correct that the items will have value. They will have to be stored securely, because shops need to return the items to get back their fees. The items will be only 20p each, so they will represent only a small proportion of the value within a shop, which might sell bottles of alcohol, tobacco and so on. However, the member is quite right that the items will need to be secured until they can be picked up, because they will have value.