Producer fees for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) have been announced, with the programme due to begin in August 2023. 

Once the DRS launches, all drinks producers and retailers selling single-use drinks containers will be required to take part in the scheme. Consumers will pay a refundable 20p deposit, which will apply to all single-use PET plastic, aluminium, steel or glass drinks containers ranging in size from 50ml up to three-litre containers. 

Following a meeting of the DRS implementation group last week, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has shared producer fees, which are: 3.17p for PET, 3.42p for metal and 4.45p for glass. The organisation noted that the glass fee may increase in the future once Circularity Scotland knows the cost of transporting and recycling the material. 

Meanwhile, a surcharge for using UK-wide EAN barcodes has been calculated to allow for expected fraud, but a method to track UK-wide EANs has not yet been established. The WSTA suggested there is not a “one-size fits all solution”, but said that “producers will need to demonstrate that they know how much stock has been sold to Scottish consumers and provide an auditable trail”.

Looking ahead, producers will need to register with Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) between December 1 and February 28, and failure to do so will be considered as non-compliance.