Single-Use Disposable Beverage Cups Charge: Fairer Scotland Duty Summary

Summary of aims and expected outcomes

A priority in a more circular economy is to avoid unnecessary waste and use fewer resources. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of single-use disposable beverage cups, and it is estimated that 388.7 million single-use disposable beverage cups were placed on the market in Scotland in 2021-22. This equates to 71 single-use disposable beverage cups per capita per year, one of the highest compared to nations in the European Union^[1]. Within this report it is estimated that around 62% of cups were used for hot beverages and 38% were used for cold beverages.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, passed in July 2024, gives Scottish Ministers new powers to require suppliers of single-use items to charge a minimum amount for such items, through the introduction of a new section 87A into the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009^[2], with the policy aim of reducing consumption and therefore reducing the environmental harm caused^[3]. The Scottish Government intends that an early use of such powers will be to introduce a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups. This is in line with our draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map which includes ‘reduce and reuse’ as one of the four strategic aims, with a commitment to introduce a charge on single-use disposable beverage cups by the end of 2025.

This summary report is published alongside a consultation document setting out our proposals for how a minimum charge on single-use beverage cups would look. In that document we propose that:

• a charge of at least 25p should apply to all single-use beverage cup when an individual buys a drink of any kind, to maximise coverage and ensure the charge is easily understood;
• the charge will apply regardless of cup material, and therefore would include cups made of biodegradable material or bio-based plastics. While it can be argued that these are more sustainable than traditional plastics, they are still single use and present their own sustainability challenges including a lack of recycling infrastructure and frequency of littering;
• that there will be a limited number of exemptions based on purpose or setting, for instance in schools and when a drink is bought from a vending machine;
• retailers should be able to retain reasonable implementation costs from the charge, in line with the approach taken for the single use carrier bags charge; and
• that net proceeds of the charge should be used for the advancement of environmental protection or improvement, or to any other purposes that may be reasonably regarded as analogous.

This approach aligns with the Scottish Government’s commitment to keep pace with or exceed the EU Directive on single-use plastics (Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive - Directive (EU) 2019/904) where able to do so and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards^[4]. Article 4 (consumption reduction) of the Directive requires necessary measures to be taken to achieve an ambitious and sustained reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic cups for beverages and food containers. Under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products)(Scotland) Regulations 2021 a ban on some of the most problematic items, including single-use cups made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), came into force in Scotland in June 2022.

To support the development of a single-use disposable beverage cups charge the Scottish Government established the Single-Use Disposable Cups Charge Advisory Group to provide advice and expertise on development of a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups^[5]. Scottish Government has also undertaken further stakeholder engagement to gain more insight into key issues and, through Zero Waste Scotland, commissioned a research paper ‘Consumption of Single-use Disposable Beverage Cups in Scotland’. The paper was published in June 2023 and examines single-use disposable beverage cup usage in Scotland, potential impact of a charge, as well as international examples of alternative reusable cup schemes.

Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce a charge builds on the work of the Expert Panel on Environmental Charging and Other Measures (EPECOM) which reported on single-use beverage cups in 2019^[6]. The panel concluded that:

“Environmental charges, notably price-based interventions, have been shown to be effective at reducing consumption and should be considered in tandem with other preventative measures. The Panel believes that a charge is more effective at reducing consumption and increasing reusable cup use than a ... cup discount”^[7].

Loss aversion theory shows individuals have a higher sensitivity to potential losses than to gains^[8]. This would mean charging for products has a stronger impact on behaviour change than offering a discount.

The planned charge can be avoided by bringing a reuseable cup or in some cases ‘sitting-in’ at the supplier and using provided reusable crockery (i.e. glass or mug). The policy intention is that the charge will only be applicable where a drink is purchased, there it will not apply if a drink is free. There will be circumstances in which the charge would apply but where an exemption is appropriate, for instance in schools, for vending machines and other settings where there is no option to use a reuseable cup.

These exemptions are explained in the consultation document and will be kept in review during final policy development. A final impact assessment will be published alongside any regulations.

Policy objectives and intended outcomes

The Scottish Government proposes to make regulations requiring suppliers of beverages in single-use disposable beverage cups to charge a minimum amount for such cups. The policy aim is to reduce consumption of single-use disposable beverage cups, and reduce the environmental harm caused. This will support the overall ambition to tackle our throwaway culture by avoiding unnecessary waste and using fewer resources. This aligns with a wider ambition to promote reusable alternatives as part of the shift towards a circular economy in Scotland.