Single-Use Disposable Beverage Cups Charge: Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

3. Existing regulatory landscape

The planned charge on single-use disposable beverage cups forms part of a suite of measures being taken forward by the Scottish Government to reduce reliance on single-use items. Action has already been taken. The Scottish Government has banned certain problematic single-use plastics. Restrictions have been put in place on the manufacture and sale of microbeads (2018) and plastic-stemmed cotton buds (2019); single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks), plates, straws, beverage stirrers and balloon sticks; food containers made of expanded polystyrene; and cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers and lids (2022)^[34]. The impact of the most recent ban is currently being evaluated and further activities are underway to ban other problematic items, such as single-use vapes and wet wipes containing plastic.

In 2022, the UK Government and Devolved Administrations committed to introduce a UK-wide mandatory takeback requirement for fibre-based composite cups through Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging. Mandatory takeback would require sellers of filled fibre-based composite cups that employ 10 or more FTEs to provide for the separate collection of used cups (either generated in-store or consumed 'on-the-go').

This policy would be a complementary measure to the cups charge and help achieve circular economy goals. Charging for single-use disposable beverage cups is expected to reduce consumption of single-use disposable beverage cups, promoting behavioural change and moving consumers to reusable alternatives. Mandatory takeback would help improve the recycling of remaining fibre-based single-use disposable beverage cups^[35].

The Scottish Government has committed to keep pace with or exceed the EU Directive on single use plastics (Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive (EU) 2019/904) where able to do so and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards^[36].