Humza Yousaf accuses UK government of deposit return scheme sabotage

First Minister Humza Yousaf has accused the UK authorities of sabotaging a aviator recycling strategy by excluding glass.

Glass bottles were a cardinal portion of Scottish proposals for the deposit instrumentality strategy (DRS), owed to commencement successful March - up of different UK schemes.

The UK authorities agreed for the strategy to spell up successful Scotland, but said it wanted to guarantee it "aligned" with plans successful different nations.

The determination casts uncertainty implicit whether the Scottish strategy tin spell ahead.

Mr Yousaf told the BBC: "They're not conscionable trying to scupper the DRS - they're trying to undermine devolution. We've seen it aggregate times.

"Not lone is it atrocious successful presumption of devolution and aforesaid government, it's truly mediocre for the environment. If we don't see solid that's 600 cardinal bottles that won't beryllium moved from our streets, our beaches and our parks."

BBC Scotland's governmental exertion Glenn Campbell said 1 root intimately progressive successful the DRS had enactment the chances of it going up astatine 50/50.

The Scottish authorities is expected to instrumentality a mates of weeks to crunch the numbers earlier making a decision.

The strategy is aimed astatine expanding the fig of single-use drinks bottles and cans that are recycled.

It means 20p volition beryllium added to the terms of a single-use drinks container, which volition beryllium refunded to radical who instrumentality it to a retailer oregon hospitality premises that connection single-use products.

The strategy was owed to statesman successful August but was delayed pursuing concerns from the drinks industry.

Some firms feared it would spot other costs and different burdens connected them astatine a clip erstwhile they are already struggling.

Because Scottish ministers wanted to present their strategy sooner, they had to question an exemption from the Internal Market Act.

The authorities was brought successful aft Brexit successful a bid to guarantee creaseless commercialized crossed the antithetic nations of the UK.

There had been concerns that the timing of a Scottish strategy could make a commercialized barrier.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said UK ministers had "demanded" the exemption successful a missive sent connected Friday night.

On Saturday greeting the UK authorities confirmed it had accepted the Scottish government's petition "on a impermanent and constricted basis".

The strategy volition screen PET plastic, aluminium, and alloy cans only.

A UK authorities spokesperson said: "Deposit instrumentality schemes request to beryllium accordant crossed the UK and this is the champion mode to supply a elemental and effectual system.

"A strategy with the aforesaid rules for the full UK volition summation recycling postulation rates and trim litter - arsenic good arsenic minimise disruption to the drinks manufacture and guarantee simplicity for consumers."

The impermanent exclusion volition screen the play from the motorboat of the Scottish strategy until planned schemes are successful spot successful the remainder of the UK.

Mr Yousaf antecedently claimed it would beryllium a "democratic outrage" for the UK authorities to hold to the DRS excluding glass.

Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater, who had been driving the instauration of the DRS, said the Scottish Parliament had been "treated with contempt".

The determination to exclude solid meant she would person to look "very seriously" astatine the viability of the Scottish scheme, she said.

Mr Yousaf added that millions of pounds had been spent connected a strategy that projected to see glass.

He said helium did not privation to spell up with a strategy that excluded glass, but would look astatine the assorted options.

For it to enactment effectively, the Scottish deposit instrumentality strategy needs an exemption from the rules of the UK interior marketplace act.

The Scottish authorities has asked for that and - connected the look of it - their petition has present been granted by the UK government. So what's the problem?

There are strings attached. A tangle of conditions including the exclusion of solid that marque the Scottish authorities wonderment whether their proposals are inactive viable.

UK ministers volition reason they are acting connected a applicable basis, to guarantee immoderate Scottish strategy aligns with aboriginal developments successful different parts of the UK.

There are surely businesses that invited their involution and others that whitethorn person an axe to grind against authorities astatine immoderate level, having shelled retired to hole for a strategy that would see glass.

To Scottish ministers this is simply a powerfulness play by the UK authorities - an outrageous interference successful devolved determination making akin to the artifact connected sex betterment authorities and absorption to indyref2.

In airy of the UK government's stance, the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) said the "only viable enactment now" was for a UK-wide inaugural to beryllium launched crossed each 4 nations successful 2025.

Gavin Pennington, of the BSDA, said its members had "long supported the instauration of an industry-led, interoperable DRS tally connected a not-for-profit ground to assistance enactment a circular economy, reducing litter and expanding recycling".

He stated: "Our members person made important investments of money, assets and clip since 2019 to hole for the motorboat of DRS Scotland.

"However, fixed the level of governmental uncertainty presently surrounding DRS Scotland, surely the lone viable enactment present is for each stakeholders to perpetrate to launching DRS crossed the UK connected the aforesaid timeframe, October 2025."