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

Summary of evidence

A charge on single-use disposable beverage cups has the potential to impact upon everybody in Scotland who purchases a hot or cold beverage in a single-use disposable beverage cup. The proposed charge is intended to apply across Scotland and does not specifically target particular groups, geographical locations or sections of society. It is, however, important to ensure that the impact on those who experience socio-economic disadvantage is understood, whether this is through low income, low wealth, material deprivation, area deprivation or socio-economic background.

At this stage, after an initial assessment, the evidence suggests the following potential impacts are relevant:

Low incomes, low wealth and material deprivation

Over one million people in Scotland live in relative poverty and around a quarter of them are children, with nearly half a million people living in very deep poverty^[9]. In 2022, 51.9% (362,121) of all school pupils were registered for free school meals with 215,053 pupils registered and present taking free meals. It is noted that these figures also cover primary and special schools where a substantial proportion of those registered qualify through non-benefits based criteria.

An estimated 388.7 million single-use cups were placed on the market in Scotland in 2021-22, which equates to 71 single-use cups per capita per year⁸. Noted within this report, 62% of these single-use cups are the result of hot drink consumption, the remaining 38% from cold beverage consumption.

Those aged between 24-41 and those aged 42-58 are more likely to consume takeaway coffees once a week or more. This is contrasted to those 18-24 and 58+ who are more likely to never purchase takeaway coffees^[10]. This would indicate that those aged 24-58 might be most affected by the charge. However, the above data is related to coffee only and does not consider the wide array of circumstances where single-use disposable beverage cups may be used.

Furthermore, it does not provide insight into how the rate of consumption varies across the different age groups in relation to different income brackets.

According to the 2022 household survey, 11% of those aged 16-34 and 12% of 35-59 years old said they are not managing well financially^[11]. These low-income groups have the potential to be adversely impacted by a charge. However, this charge is avoidable by using a reusable cup. The accessibility of reusable cups for lower income households is not known or the proportion of people in these households who currently have access to them but these items vary in price and are available in most major supermarkets and online. The lifecycle, and therefore value for money, of these items will vary. We will be seeking views from representative groups during the consultation to understand this.

Homelessness

In Scotland, there were 39,006 homelessness applications recorded in 2022-23^[12]. From April to September 2022, 1,184 homeless applicants reported rough sleeping during the previous three months (6% of all applications)^[13]. Those experiencing homelessness may rely on takeaway drinks and may have limited access to reusable cups and facilities to keep them clean. It is unclear at this time the number of charitable drinks given, the reliance those experiencing homelessness have on takeaway drinks, and if a charge would impact on members of the public giving charitable donations of drinks.

Per above, policy proposals include that free drinks will not be subject to the charge. Further engagement will be carried out during the consultation period to understand the potential impact on those experiencing homelessness and the impact of mitigating action of exempting free drinks.

Rural Communities

A Scottish Government report from 2021 estimated that the minimum cost of living in ‘remote rural’ Scotland is between 15% and 30% higher than urban parts of the UK^[14]. While living in more rural areas in Scotland incurs additional costs, it is unclear how people living in these areas would be impacted by a charge on single-use disposable beverage cups. We will therefore undertake further engagement with representative groups during the consultation to understand this better.

Potential positive impacts of reduced littering

There may be mental health benefits arising from the anticipated reduction in littered cups. In the Scottish Household Survey, 2022, those living in the 20% most deprived areas were more likely to say neighbourhood problems (such as litter and graffiti) were ‘common’ than those in the least deprived areas (72% compared with 39%)^[15]. This was further supported by the Scottish Litter Survey in 2023. 52% of those surveyed reported frequently seeing single-use (hot and cold) drinks containers in their local area^[16].

The Carnegie Trust also found that those who reported the highest incidence of environmental incivilities such as litter were more likely to report anxiety, depression, poor health, smoking, and poor exercise than those with more positive views on this aspect of their local environment^[17]. Another study^[18] investigated the effect of litter on psychological reactions to marine environments. The study found that photographs of un-littered coasts tended to provide participants with a sense of happiness and less stress while photographs exhibiting littered coasts caused participants to exhibit stress and a lack of the positive psychological benefits that coastal environments normally provide.