Yousaf warning on deposit return scheme deadline day

Mr Yousaf said he would struggle to see how the scheme could go ahead without glass

Humza Yousaf has said it is "very difficult" to see a future for Scotland's deposit return scheme if glass is not allowed to be included.

The first minister's deadline for UK ministers to remove the condition on its scheme for recycling cans and bottles is due to expire later.

He set the deadline in a letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday.

But Circularity Scotland, the firm set up to run the scheme, has said it should still go ahead without glass.

Last week, the UK government approved a partial exemption to the Internal Market Act for the deposit scheme, but stipulated glass could not be part of it.

Circularity Scotland's programme director, Donald McCalman told the BBC "we absolutely believe the scheme is viable to launch" with aluminium and plastic containers only.

Mr McCalman said that if it was not delivered in Scotland it could make drinks producers think twice about backing a later UK-wide scheme.

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The first minister said no final decision would be made until his cabinet met on Tuesday.

Mr Yousaf said he "would struggle to see how the scheme could go ahead if it doesn't include glass".

Speaking to a Scottish business forum event, he said he was "annoyed as well as upset" that the scheme had become a point of disagreement between the Scottish and UK governments.

And he told BBC Scotland he had yet to receive "even an acknowledgement" of his letter to Mr Sunak.

The Scottish government wants to include glass bottles in its plans

On Sunday, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack insisted the exclusion of glass remained a condition of their support.

But SNP deputy leader Keith Brown told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the scheme had been "sabotaged by the UK government."

He said: "The first minister will be hoping Rishi Sunak can bring some pressure to bear on Alister Jack to see some sense."

He added: "I think people are bemused at why the UK government is taking this approach.

"We know action has to be taken. It reduces by around a third the effectiveness of the scheme if you take out glass, so let's just get some common sense on the table."

Mr Brown accused the Scottish secretary of "scandalous" mis-representation for stating that the scheme would not be recycling glass, but crushing it and using it as aggregate for filling roads.

Circularity Scotland said a target of 90% for the remelting and reuse of glass would rise to 95% once the scheme was launched.

If it goes live as planned in March 2024, the deposit return scheme would see a 20p charge placed on drinks containers which would be refunded to consumers upon their return in a bid to increase recycling levels.

The UK government has said deposit return schemes should be consistent across the UK.

Mr Jack said he had received more than 1,000 letters of concern from businesses about the Scottish DRS.

He said: "It's those concerns that we've taken into account when we've come to our conclusion because we believe the deposit charge should be the same and reciprocated across the UK.

"If I get off the train in Carlisle and buy some recyclable material and it's 10p in Carlisle and 20p in Dumfries, I double my money. That makes no sense."

In his letter to the prime minister, Mr Yousaf cited concerns raised by C&C Group - one of the country's biggest brewers and the company behind Tennent's Lager.

'Dog's dinner'

In correspondence Mr Jack received from the firm, seen by the BBC, the company said it had been "misrepresented" in passages from the letter that appeared in the media.

C&C added it was "actively seeking and supports a UK-wide scheme introduced at the same time across the four UK nations".

Keith Brown denied any knowledge of C&C's letter being leaked to the media.

Scottish Greens environment spokesman Mark Ruskell said on Monday that the DRS was now "on the brink" and there needed to be negotiation around the detail of the conditions set down by the UK government.

He said: "If the UK government continues to require the exclusion of glass, then clearly that will have an economic impact on the viability of the scheme.

"It will also have a very damaging impact on the environmental benefits of the scheme as well."

Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said the Scottish government had "made a dog's dinner of DRS from day one by refusing to heed the warnings of businesses and recklessly ploughing ahead with an unworkable scheme".