Five leading supermarkets have urged new Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf to shelve plans for the UK’s first deposit return scheme.
In an unprecedented attack by senior retail figures on the plans, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose have spoken out about the scheme, following criticism by Tesco and Asda.
The move piles fresh pressure on the Scottish government to ditch its proposed 16 August start date, with supermarkets having been seen as the main focal point for the launch of the reverse vending machines set to be at the heart fo the scheme.
It comes after the Scottish Retail Consortium told The Grocer last month it was ”increasingly difficult” to believe the scheme could land well with customers in August.
Duing the leadership election, Yousaf signalled he would allow a one-year exemption to the scheme for smaller producers, after his rival Kate Forbes, who last week turned down the role of being Scotland’s food minister, warned DRS risked causing “financial carnage” for small drinks companies.
“The current timetable for DRS does not set the scheme up to succeed given the lack of clarity on so many key issues,” Morrisons CEO David Potts told the Sunday Mail.
“We share the Scottish government’s desire to boost recycling and tackle littering. More time is needed to deliver a workable and consistent scheme that enjoys the confidence of consumers.”
Andrew Murphy, COO at the John Lewis Partnership, which includes Waitrose, added: “While we’re committed to cutting down on waste, we have serious concerns over the implementation of the scheme and we’ve expressed these to the Scottish government.”
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Despite our significant investment in deposit return scheme trials over the last few years, we support a delay to the introduction of the Scottish scheme as the current timings are unattainable and critical information is still missing.”
Last week environment secretary Thérèse Coffey urged the new FM to abandon the 16 August deadline, saying she hoped Scotland could be persuaded to join a UK-wide DRS scheme, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland not due to launch it until October 2025 at the earliest.
The plans for DRS have faced fierce criticism from the alcohol industry, smaller retailers and wholesalers.
However, the industry is split, with major drinks producers warning abandonment of the rollout could see more than £100m in investments flushed down the drain.
Last week, producers including AG Barr, Britvic and Coca-Cola urged the new leader to make the scheme a “top priority”.
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