SIBA responds to announcement on registration and new producer fee for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme
Today Circularity Scotland (CSL) has announced a new producer fee and opened registration for producers for the new Deposit Return Scheme being introduced in August 2023. In response, SIBA’s Scottish Regional Director Jamie Delap said:
“Over the last three months small brewers have been calling for a number of changes to the scheme to reflect the severe resource constraints they are working under, including giving them an 18 month grace period and extending the payment periods. There are also still too many unknowns around the costs and regulatory burdens such as around VAT and the online takeback service which requires small producers to collect empties from people’s homes.
“The announcement of the revised producer agreement, which reduces the producer fee, unfortunately only makes minimal moves to address the concerns of small producers who are facing a perilous trading environment. With only a few months to register and so many unknowns it is hard to see how any small producer could accept the terms proposed by CSL or make a commercial decision to sign up to the scheme.
“The Minister has made it clear that addressing the issues facing small producers was one of her highest priorities but we are yet to see any measures that will help them with this costly and vastly bureaucratic scheme. Small producers do not contribute significantly to litter or recycling issues yet face some of the highest costs. Everyone now in the craft beer sector in Scotland now enters the Christmas period knowing that the scheme threatens the viability of their businesses and jobs next year.”
