Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) has urged councils not to stop glass collections ahead of the rollout of the deposit return scheme (DRS), amid concerns the system will hit kerbside collections.
Falkirk became the first council last year to stop glass collections as a direct result of the DRS, with several other local authorities now reviewing their service.
The scheme will see a 20p deposit placed on all single-use drinks containers made of PET plastic, steel, aluminium, and glass. The consumer will get this back once the empty container has been returned.
Adrian Bond, recycling manager at ZWS, said: “For the majority of councils, the projected savings from the reduction in residual waste were greater than the loss of income from recyclate.”
“Our recommendation is not to make service changes in advance of the launch. ZWS is working through various glass collection options and will be making recommendations on the most efficient models.”
Deadline
The call comes as the Scottish government has scaled back large parts of the system to enable it to hit the August 2023 deadline.
Lorna Slater, the circular economy minister, made a string of changes after a government report came to light which showed the legislation would have to be altered in order for the deadline to be hit.
The first measure is to reduce producer fees and payments producers are required to make on day one.
Circularity Scotland has also reviewed the timing of cashflows from producers to the scheme administrator for deposits and the producer fee.
The changes mean producer fees will be 8%, 30% and 40% lower for glass, PET plastic and metal containers respectively.
View our previous articles on the 2022 DRS Response [11/10/22]
