Deposit return scheme for Scotland: accompanying statement

Overview of The Public Consultation on The Regulations

19. The public consultation consisted of 7 open questions, each seeking views on a Part of the Regulations:

• Part 1 – General
• Part 2 – The deposit and return scheme
• Part 3 – Producers
• Part 4 – Scheme administrator
• Part 5 – Retailers and return points
• Part 6 – Appeals or reviews
• Part 7 – Enforcement and offences

20. 147 responses were received through the exercise, 113 of which were from organisations and 34 from individuals. Where consent has been given, responses will be published so they can be considered alongside this report.

21. The organisations which responded represented a range of sectors including:

* The above list is not exhaustive. Further, it is recognised that organisations will often overlap several sectors. The above summary should therefore only be considered indicative.

22. A number of respondents used the consultation as an opportunity to express general views and opinions on the merits of DRS, sometimes without specific reference to the structure or content of the Regulations. We have not analysed these views as part of this exercise on the basis that a separate public consultation seeking views on the detailed design for DRS has already been conducted, analysed and responded to. However, where it has been possible to link respondent comments to specific regulations, we have sought to do so.

23. The consultation was designed to facilitate detailed and specific comments on the Regulations. Accordingly, the analysis of views expressed is largely qualitative and focuses on themes identified through the consultation responses. As a guide, where reference is made in the report to 'few' respondents, this relates to three or less respondents. The term 'several' refers to more than three, but typically less than ten. The term 'significant number' refers to more than ten.