Deposit return scheme consultation: analysis of responses

2 Description of the responses and respondents

Number of responses received

2.1 The consultation received 3,232 submissions through various routes. Two-thirds of the responses (66%) were submitted online; around a third (32%) were submitted as postcard campaign responses; and the remainder (2%) were submitted by email (Table 2.1).

Table 2.1: Number of responses received, by response type

Response type	n	%
Online responses	2,132	66%
Offline email responses	52	2%
Campaign responses (postcards)	1,048	32%
Total responses	3,232	100%

Number of responses included in the analysis

2.2 Of the 3,232 responses received, an examination of the data found that seven individuals and eight organisations had submitted two responses. Specifically:

• One individual submitted two responses in which the first response was a subset of the second. The second response was retained and the first removed.
• Six individuals submitted two different responses. For each of these individuals, their responses were combined into a single amalgamated response. Where there were differences in the answers to any closed question, the answer from the second (more recent) response was retained. However, all comments from both responses were copied into the amalgamated response.
• One organisation submitted two different online responses. These were combined into a single amalgamated response.
• Seven organisations submitted an online response and sent an identical (or nearly identical) response by email to the Scottish Government. In some cases, the response sent by email contained additional information which the respondent had been unable to submit online (e.g. attachments or general points not relating to specific questions). In all cases, the response sent by email has been retained, and the online response was removed.

2.3 In addition, one individual submitted two blank responses. Both these responses were removed. 

2.4 Table 2.2 summarises the process of removing responses from the database. 

Table 2.2: Number of responses received and included in the analysis

Number of responses received	3,232
Number of responses removed
Duplicate responses	- 8
Multiple different responses combined	- 7
Blank responses	- 2
Total number of responses included in the analysis	3,215

2.5 Thus, the analysis presented here is based on 3,215 responses. This comprised responses from 159 organisations, 2,008 individuals and 1,048 campaign respondents (Table 2.3).

Table 2.3: Responses included in the analysis, by respondent type

Respondent type	n	%
Organisations	159	5%
Individuals	2,008	63%
Campaign respondents	1,048	33%
Total	3,215	100%

Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Organisational respondents

2.6 As noted above, the consultation received responses from 159 organisations or groups. These included a wide range of public, private and third sector organisations – based in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK, and overseas. The largest categories were:

• Public sector organisations (25)
• Food and drink producers (24)
• Environmental, conservation, food and health charities (22)
• Retail, vending and retail representative bodies (20)
• Recycling and waste management organisations (16)
• Packaging manufacturers (16) (note that some of these were also involved in recycling and waste management activities).

2.7 Table 2.4 shows the full classification of organisational respondents. A list of all (159) organisational respondents is provided in Annex 1.

Table 2.4: Organisational respondents, by type

Organisation type	n	%
Public sector organisations	25	16%
Food and drink producers	24	15%
Environmental, conservation, food and health charities	22	14%
Retail, vending and retails representative bodies	20	13%
Recycling and waste management organisations	16	10%
Packaging manufacturers	16	10%
Community bodies	9	6%
Environmental consultancies	7	4%
Hospitality and restaurant trade	6	4%
Deposit return scheme companies (including international)	4	3%
Other organisations	10	6%
Total organisations	159	100%

Campaign responses

2.8 The campaign group, Have You Got The Bottle (HYGTB), assisted their members and supporters to respond to the consultation by (i) providing guidance on how to complete the online questionnaire, and (ii) producing pre-printed postcards for submission by post.

2.9 The guidance for submitting an online response was available on the HYGTB website. Two versions of the guidance were provided: 

• A ‘15-minute version’ covering 14 consultation questions (Qs 1, 2, 2a, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 16, 20, 25, 26, 40, 49). These questions related to the types of materials and products that should be collected, arrangements for returning containers, scheme funding, the deposit level, example schemes, and cross-UK cooperation.
• A ‘5-minute version’ covering a subset of five questions (Qs 1, 7, 11, 14, 25). 

2.10 The guidance suggested how respondents might answer the closed questions in the consultation and provided a brief explanation for the suggested answer which respondents could draw on in providing any comments they wished to include at the ‘open’ questions.

2.11 This was not a ‘standard’ campaign providing individuals with a template letter or model answers to individual questions, or asking them to submit their responses via a campaign website. Responses drawing on the HYGTB guidance were submitted via the online platform along with all other online responses. These responses did not have any explicit HYGTB identifier and it was therefore not possible for them to be counted separately. Moreover, although responses from individuals contained common text, virtually all of them were personalised (by for example writing personalised comments at one or more of the HYGTB questions or answering additional questions in the consultation paper not covered by the HYGTB guidance). Therefore, all responses received online have been counted as individual responses and included in the analysis. 

2.12 Campaign supporters submitting postcards were invited to sign their name to a statement calling for a deposit return system that:

• Includes drinks containers made from all materials (Q1, Q3, Q8)
• Includes all drinks (Q7, Q11, Q40)
• Asks online retailers and most shops to accept returns (Q14 and Q16)
• Keeps unclaimed deposits in the system for stability, and lets the public choose to donate their deposit (Q20 and Q30).

2.13 Postcard respondents were also asked to indicate (i.e. to write in) the level of deposit (in pence) they thought should be on every drink container (Q25).

2.14 All postcards were collected by the campaign organiser and submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform at the Scottish Parliament prior to the consultation closing date. Altogether, 1,048 postcards were received.  

2.15 The postcard text is included in the qualitative analysis and reporting at relevant questions, and the information on the suggested deposit levels is analysed. However, the postcard responses are not included in the tables reporting responses to closed questions. Copies of the HYGTB campaign resources are included at Annex 2 of this report.

Response rate to individual questions

2.16 Annex 3 provides details of the number and proportion of organisational and individual respondents who replied to the closed questions. There was a higher response rate for closed questions than for open questions. However, some organisations preferred to provide comments without (in every case) replying to the relevant closed question.