Circularity Scotland secures funding to change Scottish consumer recycling habits for good.
Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL), an independent company was set up in 2021 as the scheme administrator of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), the initiative to encourage households to return empty, single-use containers for collection for recycling.
Read time: 3 mins Added: 16/05/2022
They were established by some of the world’s largest drinks producers, retailers and hospitality groups as well as trade associations and wholesalers with a simple mission - to make Scotland a cleaner, greener place.
Investing for a sustainable future
Circularity Scotland Limited secured funding from Bank of Scotland and the Scottish National Investment Bank, each committing to £9m to help people recycle billions of single-use drinks containers every year.
The scheme will help to tackle climate change, increase quantity and quality of materials collected for recycling, and decrease litter, supporting a circular economy. The ultimate goal is to recapture 90% of Scotland’s single-use drinks containers, equivalent to 2.5 billion each year.
About the scheme
- The founding members consist of many of the world’s largest drink producers, trade associations and retailers.
- The scheme will cover all single-use drinks containers made from PET plastic or glass and all steel and aluminium drink cans.
- A 20p deposit will apply to all drinks containers from 50ml miniatures right up to 3-litres.
- The scheme is designed to be self-financing with administrative costs covered by revenues from recovered materials, unredeemed deposits and a small producer fee.
Our support
The funding will be used to meet start-up costs, with the scheme going live in August 2023. As well as handling the finance and logistical aspects of the scheme – CSL will play a huge part in educating suppliers, wholesalers, retailers and the general public about how the scheme will work.
David Harris, Chief Executive Officer at Circularity Scotland Limited said: “We are delighted to be working with Scottish National Investment Bank and Bank of Scotland. Their investments alongside those already received from industry will support our work in providing Scotland with the most comprehensive and efficient Deposit Return Scheme in the world. We are committed to being a highly effective and efficient scheme administrator creating exciting employment opportunities and this funding makes that possible.”
Simon Sweeney, Corporate & Institutional Debt Director at Bank of Scotland said: “Addressing the sustainability challenges the country faces requires collaboration from within the financing ecosystem. So we were keen to be able to work with the Scottish National Investment Bank on this funding arrangement and ensure Circularity Scotland Limited has the support needed to make a success of its recycling initiatives. We look forward to seeing the scheme go from strength to strength.”