Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will increase the national recycling rate

As we approach Global Recycling Day, (18 March 2023), Zero Waste Scotland has emphasised that Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will help tackle the climate emergency by increasing the recycling rate of eligible drinks containers to 90%.

The Deposit Return Scheme, which will see consumers pay a 20p deposit when they buy takeaway drinks in plastic or glass bottles or metal cans, will play a significant role in boosting recycling, lowering emissions and reducing the negative costs and impacts of littering.

Currently only half of eligible containers are recycled. Once the scheme is in place the aim is to collect at least 90% of these in the second year of operation.

Increasing recycling and reducing waste, the Deposit Return Scheme will lower emissions by an average of just over 160,000 tonnes of CO2eq each year.  This is the equivalent of taking 85,000 cars off the road, more than enough to remove all cars from the city of Dundee.

The scheme will also increase the supply of glass for recycling into new bottles by an additional 52,800 tonnes saving over 50,000 tonnes of carbon every year – approximately a third of the scheme’s total carbon savings.

It will also reduce the volume of litter in Scotland by a third, allowing savings from the £46million spent directly by councils every year on cleaning up litter, and reducing the wider environmental impacts such as harm to wildlife and plastics polluting our seas.

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will be a gamechanger for recycling across the country.

“Not only will the scheme increase the amount of containers collected but will also collect high quality materials that can be recycled back into high quality products.

“It will change the way we see these materials, attaching a value to them and ensuring we keep them in use for as long as possible, which is essential for our environment and our economy.” 

Deposit Return Schemes are already being used effectively in over 50 countries and territories around the world.  Most European countries with Deposit Return Schemes achieve return rates above 90%. The scheme will be a step change in delivering on our climate ambitions as well as providing a visible commitment to protecting our natural environment through reduced littering in our streets, our countryside and in our oceans.