Deposit return scheme for Scotland: summary

How to create additional benefits from the scheme? (Questions 30 and 31)

As identified under other system components, there are potential added benefits that could be derived from a deposit return scheme for Scotland. These include:

1. Donation – Customers may prefer to have the option of donating their deposits to charity rather than have them returned. This could be done through:

• An option on RVMs to donate to a selection of registered charities, as for instance IKEA did during its pilot of a RVM in its Edinburgh store. The majority of those surveyed at IKEA and Heriot-Watt University in relation to trials carried out at these locations liked the idea of being able to donate to charity rather than redeeming a voucher. In practice, at Heriot-Watt's campus 4.9% of rewards were donated.
• A specific receptacle for people who choose not to return containers to deposit return points – for instance if they are on the go and want to dispose of something quickly – but would like the deposit to go to a good cause. For instance, schools could support extracurricular activities by allowing pupils to 'donate' drinks containers.
• Receptacles on litter bins to enable other people to reclaim deposits without raking through bins to find deposit carrying items.

2. Encourage better product design – As well as recovering and recycling packaging, a key consideration for wider Scottish Government policy is to improve the design of products to limit their environmental impact. In the case of a deposit return scheme on drinks containers, variable producer fees or deposit rates could be used to encourage manufacturers to design for better recyclability or use more recycled content in their products.

Summary of Other Components

As well as the choices which have been set out in the previous sections which will directly impact on what the scheme looks like to the public, there are several other choices which need to be made to design a deposit return scheme. These are discussed in more detail in the main consultation document.