Charging for single-use disposable beverage cups: consultation - easy read

Scottish Government Charging for single use cups Tell us what you think Easy Read

Background

Our economy is how the country produces and uses goods, services and money.

Scotland must have an economy that does not waste resources.

We should use reusable products as much as possible.

Single use cups are often found in litter.

Single use products are things that are only used once and then thrown away.

In 2022 people in Scotland used around 388 million single use cups.

A charge on single use cups will:

• support single use cups to be used less
• encourage people to use reusable cups
• be better for the environment

Proposals – what we want to do

The Scottish Government wants a charge of at least 25 pence to apply to all single use cups when a person buys a drink of any kind.

You can avoid paying the charge by:

• using your own reusable cup

• using a reusable cup provided by the supplier of the drink

A supplier or retailer is the person or organisation that is selling you the drink in a single use cup.

Exemptions – when do you not have to pay for a single use cup

There may not be a charge:

• when a drink is free like in hospitals or care homes
• in schools
• at some vending machines
• when bringing and using a reusable cup may not be practical:
  • for safety reasons
  • if it cannot be washed like in event spaces or festivals

Use of the money that is raised by the charge

We propose that retailers and suppliers can cover their costs like they do for the single use carrier bags charge.

We would expect suppliers to keep records of:

• the number of single use cups they collected a charge for each year
• the amount of money they charged
• how much it has cost them to charge people for a single use cup
• the money raised by the charge

We want to know if you think that the money raised by the charge:

• should be spent on things that are good for the environment or spent in a different way
• should be collected and kept by suppliers or given to the Scottish Government

Enforcement – how we check that people are following the rules

We propose that:

• local councils should make sure suppliers are following the rules
• local councils will be able to give out fixed penalty notices of 2 hundred pounds– going down to 100 hundred pounds if it is paid early

If the fixed penalty notice is paid in time, the person cannot be convicted for the offence.

Impact assessments

Along with this consultation we have published impact assessments – these checks how our plans would affect people, places and business.

The assessments are online at:

• Strategic Environmental Assessment: Environmental Report
• Equality Impact Assessment – Interim Report
• Fairer Scotland Duty Summary
• Island Communities Impact Assessment Report: Pre-Consultation Interim Report
• Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

They are not Easy Read documents.

The feedback we get from this consultation will be used to update the impact assessments.

How to fill in this consultation

There are 3 ways you can answer the questions in the consultation:

• online
• by post
• by email

Online

You can answer online on the Scottish Government's consultation hub called Citizen Space.

If you use the consultation hub to answer, you will get sent a copy of your answers by email.

By post

You can type or write your answers on this form and send it to us.

If you want to write your answers in the boxes then you can use the enter button to make the boxes bigger first.

Then print out the answer pages ready to write on.

Put your answers in an envelope and write the address on the front.

The address is:

Single-use cups charge consultation

Reduce and Reuse Unit

Scottish Government

3H South, Victoria Quay

Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

By email

You can send us your answers by email.

If you are answering by using this document, click on the box of the answer you agree with and a tick will appear.

If you change your mind you can click on it again to untick it.

If you are typing, the spaces will get bigger as you type.

When you have finished, save a copy and email it to: SUPD@gov.scot

There are 20 questions in the survey.

Each question is in bold black writing.

Questions on how we would make the charge happen

1: What do you think should be the lowest price charged for a single use disposable cup, which is clear that it is separate to the price of the drink?

20 pence

25 pence

30 pence

40 pence

50 pence

I don't know

Another amount – please tell us what:

2. Please tell us more about your answer.

We want to know what price per cup would encourage people to change their behaviour.

Write or type your answer here:

We could do this in a different way.

Scottish Ministers could:

• make guidance and have rules that suppliers must charge for a single use cup
• leave it up to suppliers to choose the price they charge

3. Do you think this way would be better?

yes

no

I don't know

4. Please tell us more about your answer.

Write or type it here:

Questions on proposed exemptions to the charge

5. Do you agree there should be no charge for single use cups sold in schools?

yes

no

I don't know

6. Do you agree there should be no charge for drinks sold in single use cups from some vending machines?

yes

no

I do not know

7. Do you agree there should be an exemption for settings where a reusable cup is not practical?

yes

no

I don't know

8. Do you think there should be other exemptions?

Please give us as much detail as you can.

Write or type it here:

Questions on how the money from the charge should be spent

9. Where do you think the money from the charge should be used?

on things that protect the environment

kept by businesses and encouraged to be given to good causes on a voluntary basis

This is how the single-use carrier bag charge works

collected by local or national government

I do not know

In another way – please tell us what:

Tell us more about your answer.

Write or type it here:

10.  Do you agree with the recording requirements as set out on page 4?

I strongly agree

I agree

I do not know

I do not agree

I strongly do not agree

Questions on making sure the rules are followed and how we will make the charge happen

11. Do you agree with the enforcement rules as set out on page 5?

I strongly agree

I agree

I do not know

I do not agree

I strongly do not agree

12. Please tell us more about your answers to questions 9, 10 and 11.

Write or type it here:

13: If you are a supplier - what could make it difficult for you to introduce the charge?

Write or type your answer here:

14. If you are a supplier - how much time do you think it would take for your business to prepare to start the charge?

in a couple of weeks

1 month

2 to 3 months

More than 6 months

Please give reasons for your answer.

Write or type your answer here:

15. If you are a supplier what could the Scottish Government do to help your business start the charge?

Write or type your answer here:

Question on impact assessments

16. Is there anything else you want to tell us about how the charge would affect:

your business

the environment

treating everyone fairly

people who live on Scotland's islands

Write or type it here: