Scotland's deposit return scheme for bottles and cans is latest nonsense from SNP-Green zealotocracy – John McLellan

If the bitter divisions of the Gender Recognition Reform bill aren’t damaging enough for the SNP-Green zealotocracy, they could be matched by the hare-brained deposit return scheme which will stick 20p on every can, bottle or single-use plastic drinks container.
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As minister for the “circular economy”, Greens co-leader Lorna Slater is responsible for its implementation and insists everything is on track for the scheme’s launch in August, but affected businesses are equally insistent it’s another fast-approaching fiasco. Apparently scrunched-up cans won’t be eligible for the refund because they don’t recycle so well. Who knew?

While everyone agrees with the principle of reducing waste, increasing recycling and tackling litter, almost no one except Ms Slater and her pals thinks it’s a good idea to smash up the highly effective kerbside glass collections from which Edinburgh Council expects £0.5m over the next two years.

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If it becomes unviable ─ Falkirk Council has already scrapped its service ─ you would have to find a shop registered for returns to get back the 20p extra you had to pay for every item, instead of leaving your bottles in the blue box for the council to earn a pound or two.

The deposit return scheme looks set to reduce the money that local councils make from recycling (Picture: Anna Gowthorpe)The deposit return scheme looks set to reduce the money that local councils make from recycling (Picture: Anna Gowthorpe)
The deposit return scheme looks set to reduce the money that local councils make from recycling (Picture: Anna Gowthorpe)

Online traders are supposed to organise a returns service, so companies like Laithwaites and Naked Wines are presumably expected to ask Yodel, or whoever, to pick up cases of empties, when they were being collected and recycled anyway. It’s the politics of the madhouse, but having sat in a debating chamber with SNP-Green extremists for five years, I shouldn’t be surprised.

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