McArthur: Scottish Government must pause Deposit Return Scheme

Responding to Lorna Slater's interview on the BBC Sunday Show on the Deposit Return Scheme's impending deadline of Tuesday to sign up to the scheme, Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Climate Emergency Liam McArthur said:

"The deadline to sign up to the Scottish Government's Deposit Return Scheme is looming on Tuesday. Yet there are still so many questions about how the scheme will work in practice left unanswered.

"We cannot reasonably expect businesses to sign up to such a scheme when there is still such an acute lack of clarity.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats were the first party to call for a deposit return scheme and we have consistently urged the Scottish Government to learn from successful schemes elsewhere in Europe.

"The Scottish Government needs to press pause on this scheme, undertake an independent review and fully address the concerns of businesses. To fail to do this would risk harming businesses, damaging public confidence and weakening the case for a deposit return scheme."