Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 (as amended): business and regulatory impact assessment
Full business and regulatory impact assessment for The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, as amended by the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Amendment) Regulations 2025; and the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland (Designation of Scheme Administrator) Order 2025.
Introduction
1. As part of plans to create a more circular economy, the Scottish Government intends to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for specified drinks containers in October 2027. The DRS is intended to reduce littering, increase the recycling rate of drinks containers and improve the quality of material collected for recycling.
2. This is a full assessment of the impact of a DRS for single-use polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and steel and aluminium cans. It takes into account previous policy development in Scotland, and plans for a DRS in other parts of the UK.