Premier store owner and The Fed deputy vice-president Mo Razzaq has vented his frustration over Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), stating that communication from Circularity Scotland (CSL) has been substandard and that symbol groups are not factoring the scheme into refits.
“Communication has been very, very poor,” said Mo, who claims that many retailers don’t know what DRS is.
The Fed has requested that CSL makes explanation videos to educate retailers on the legislation. “We’ve asked for graphical videos to be made by their communications team in the form of animation that explains DRS first and foremost because our retailers don’t understand what DRS is,” Mo told Convenience Store. “The reason for that is it’s very complicated when you’re trying to explain it to a retailer … when you’re doing that, the retailer switches off because it’s going over their head.”
He also claimed that symbol groups are refusing to address the issue. “The symbol groups have absolutely buried their heads in the sand,” said Mo. “The fact is there have been a lot of stores that have revamped their premises and in that revamp a deposit return scheme has not been factored in, for instance, a reverse vending machine for busier stores, or manual handling for the smaller stores.”
Mo is encouraging CSL to reach out to symbol groups. “I’m asking Circularity Scotland to look at that as a matter of urgency. They need to reach out to these symbol groups and tell them this is happening, there’s no delay. There’s a 16th August deadline. You just need to get it done. They have not communicated to their members either and that’s very worrying.”
Mo has arranged to speak with CSL further to ensure that these matters are addressed. “We’ve got further meetings planned with the chief executive David Harris and the rest of the team to highlight these concerns,” he said. “We support it in principal as long as it’s done right. The problem is that there’s a hell of a lot of work still to be done. Our biggest concern just now is communication and after that it’s the cost of implementation for retailers.”
David Harris, CEO of Circularity Scotland responded:
“In November, we hosted more than 600 representatives from retailers of all sizes, drinks producers and hospitality businesses to help them plan for the introduction of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme from August next year. The conference in Glasgow featured panellists giving a range of views on how the scheme will operate and the factors each business should consider. These included Mo Razzaq from NFRN who gave his own insight into the opportunities and challenges the scheme offers to retailers.
“During the conference, Lorna Slater, the Minister responsible, also stressed her commitment to taking a pragmatic approach and supporting and working with small producers and retailers in particular. This pragmatism has already seen the introduction of a streamlined exemption process for retailers for whom it is not appropriate or possible to operate a return point, which allows us to further remodel our cost base for delivering the scheme.
“We regularly contact retailers who have signed up to our website with updates on guidance on preparing for the scheme. If they haven’t done so already, we would encourage retailers to contact us so that we can support them in preparing for the scheme and ensure this exciting initiative has a positive impact on their business. This can be done via our website or through our dedicated customer service team on 0141 401 0899.
“Ahead of registration for the scheme opening for retailers we will be increasing the guidance we provide directly to retailers and will be working with NFRN on a series of articles to help its members prepare for the scheme.
“We don’t underestimate the scale of the challenges in delivering a successful DRS and know that we all need to continue to work together to overcome them. But we also can’t lose sight of the opportunity DRS provides – to transform how we recycle in Scotland and protect our environment for generations to come.”
New guidance on the scheme was published by the Scottish government last month.
Deposit Return Schemes are expected to be introduced in England , Wales and Northern Ireland in late 2024.
No comments yet