Ross MSP Kate Forbes would postpone deposit return scheme if elected First Minister
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SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes has today pledged to pause the deposit return scheme (DRS) and iron out its problems, if she is elected First Minister.
Ms Forbes says she has been warned by local brewers that dozens of local jobs are at risk if the scheme goes ahead in its current form.
It comes as under-fire Lorna Slater threw the DRS into disarray after saying smaller firms could get a “grace period” of up to a year.
On Sunday, the minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity revealed she was actively considering the move – just 48 hours before the deadline.
Businesses affected have been demanding a halt to the rollout so that significant problems can be addressed but their calls have until now been rebuffed by Ms Slater.
RELATED: Dingwall distillery manager speaks out on deposit return scheme
Now the Highland MSP has stepped-in to say that though she backs DRS in principle, genuine and well-evidenced concerns from hundreds of businesses had to be addressed before it is successfully implemented.
The intervention comes ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for firms to complete the registration process with Circularity Scotland or be excluded from the scheme.
Speaking at the Cairngorm Brewery in Aviemore, Kate Forbes said: “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I know that thousands of firms are still struggling to recover from Covid, Brexit and Tory-inflicted inflation.
“At this point in time, small businesses need all the support they can get on the journey to recovery. The last thing they need is further costs.
“Cairngorm Brewery is a fabulous local business in the national park that takes its responsibilities to the environment seriously.
"But its director is telling me that costs are really tight, and the DRS is likely to put 30 jobs at risk.
“If that kind of situation is being replicated across other parts of Scotland, and it almost certainly is, that is a huge warning light that parts of the scheme need to be reworked.
“Or to use a different example from my constituency, there’s the fantastic Knoydart Brewery – who are on a remote peninsula near Mallaig.
“You can only get there by ferry, and there is no reverse vending machine at all. To expect people to travel over half an hour by boat to recycle is clearly not workable.
“So what I’m saying, is that the implementation of DRS needs to be paused and sense-checked, and that’s what I’ll do if I’m elected as leader.
“I believe in the principle, but the execution has to work too.”
