Scotland leads the UK’s first Deposit Return Scheme

Drinks producers are required to register with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to be part of the DRS, and they will have a legal responsibility for the collection and management of scheme containers. In very simple terms, and subject to exemptions, for products branded in the UK the producer is defined as the owner of the brand. For products which are imported into the UK, the producer is defined as the importer.

Drinks producers can either discharge their obligations under the 2020 Regulations directly, or nominate a scheme administrator to fulfil these obligations (and register with SEPA) on their behalf.

The obligations of a producer under the DRS, if they decide not to use a scheme administrator, are explained in detail in Chapter 3 of the 2020 Regulations. In summary, producers will be responsible for:

1. Collecting (and keeping for at least four years a record of) the following information:
   • The number of scheme containers they first make available to be marketed, offered for sale or sold in Scotland;
   • Whether the packaging in which those scheme containers were contained or sold was made wholly or mainly from PET plastic, glass, steel or aluminium;
   • The number of items of scheme packaging returned to them by wholesalers and retailers; and
   • The number of items of scheme packaging collected by them from each return point operator, retailer providing a takeback service, or hospitality retailer.
2. Providing the above information to SEPA as and when requested;
3. Accepting any return by a retailer or wholesaler of any relevant scheme packaging and paying the associated 20p deposit back to the retailer (who in turn will refund the 20p to the customer); and
4. Meeting the minimum collection targets specified in Schedule 3 of the 2020 Regulations. These are, in simple terms:
   1. In 2023, 70% of the scheme containers first made available by the producer to be marketed, offered for sale or sold in Scotland are to be collected from return point operators, retailer providing a takeback services and hospitality retailers;
   2. In 2024, 80% are to be collected; and
   3. In 2025, 90% are to be collected.

A scheme administrator is responsible for the day-to-day management of Scotland’s DRS. Once approved by Scottish Ministers, scheme administrators can act on behalf of producers to fulfil the legal obligations described above.

Circularity Scotland Ltd is currently the only approved scheme administrator in Scotland, although any organisation wishing to operate as a scheme administrator may apply in writing to Scottish Ministers using this application form.

Anyone who sells drinks in a scheme container on the Scottish market will have a legal obligation to make sure the container comes from a registered producer, and that a deposit is charged on each drink. Retailers may also have to operate a return point or offer a takeback service to customers.

DRS infrastructure, such as reverse vending machines, will start rolling out from summer 2022 and, where possible, the Scottish Government has agreed to work with retailers to enable the use of this infrastructure on a voluntary basis from November 2022. (Lidl have already launched their own deposit return scheme for Lidl bottles - installing in-store vending machines across Scotland).