The Federation of Independent Retailers has hailed a cash boost for Circularity Scotland, the body responsible for running the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The Federation said today that the Scottish Investment Bank has invested £9 million into Circularity Scotland, alongside an additional £9 million from Bank of Scotland.

“This investment is a show of confidence in and support for all the work being done to deliver the anticipated increase in recycling rates from August next year,” said the Federation’s national president Narinder Randhawa. “As responsible retailers, The Fed’s members in Scotland will be on the frontline of the deposit return scheme. Unless exempted, they will form the backbone of the network of Return Points, where customers will bring their bottles and cans for the refund of the deposits.”

Randhawa said the money will fund the start-up costs of the administrator for Scotland’s DRS, to help households to return empty, single-use containers for collection for recycling.

“This will tackle climate change, increase quantity and quality of materials collected for recycling, and decrease litter, supporting a circular economy,” added the trade body.