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This information is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100267407/ .

Dr Colin Church was appointed as independent Chair of the review into the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland in November 2021.

As independent Chair, it is for Dr Church to determine and manage the process of the review. I am, therefore, unable to respond on his behalf regarding the number of meetings he has held with certain organisations.

However, Dr Church has assured me he wishes to hear from all interested stakeholders during the review and I would encourage anyone interested to respond to the Call for Evidence which is open until 21 February.

As independent Chair, it is for Dr Church to determine and manage the process of the review. I am, therefore, unable to respond on his behalf regarding the number of meetings he will hold with waste industry representatives.

However, Dr Church has assured me he wishes to hear from all interested stakeholders during the review and I would encourage anyone interested to respond to the Call for Evidence which is open until 21 February.

SEPA publish the waste sites and capacity data via a tool on their website to provide capacity information about permitted waste sites across Scotland, which includes recycling facilities. The waste sites and capacity tool is available here: https://www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/waste-sites-and-capacity-tool/

The tool is normally updated yearly with capacity information and quarterly with actual waste accepted. It currently contains data from 2014 – 2019 but has not been updated since the SEPA cyberattack. The next update is scheduled for March 2022.

Projections for municipal recycling capacity in Scotland for 2025 are not held centrally.

SEPA maintains a robust programme structure to plan, track, and deliver the regulator function for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including delivery of a producer registration system. SEPA is making good progress in establishing this system in time to meet the January 2023 milestone that the Scottish Government published in December 2021.

That information is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on contractual arrangements for waste services.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 17 November 2022 I gave an update on progress towards implementing Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. In that statement I said that officials and I were working hard with Circularity Scotland and the industry to agree a final timescale and clear milestones for delivery including interpreting the impact of the decision from the UK Government on VAT, which had only just been communicated to me. While carrying out that further work, the date was very much under continuous assessment as new information was received and views of stakeholders were taken on-board. The date was made firm when I announced this to Parliament on 14 December.

Since coming into post in August 2021 I have worked intensively with industry and stakeholders to agree a project plan that we can have confidence in to deliver Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). This has included frequent engagement with Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) who have been open and realistic about the scale of challenge facing implementation of DRS due to COVID-19 and EU Exit, as the Gateway Review recognised.

In line with the principle of producer responsibility, CSL is a private company, established by industry to lead on delivery of Scotland’s DRS as scheme administrator. As an independent, industry-led organisation, CSL’s procurement decisions are not a matter for the Scottish Ministers.

Producers of in-scope drinks are responsible for having their scheme packaging collected from return points free of charge from the full implementation date for DRS, either directly or through a scheme administrator. Industry is therefore liable for delivery of DRS by the full implementation date whether or not a scheme administrator is in place by that date. Until and unless amended by the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Amendment Regulations 2022, that date is set in regulations as 1 July 2022.

The Gateway Review into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which was published on 14 December 2021, gives a preparedness estimate of 12-24 months for individual stakeholders including retailers. This informed their judgement that a full implementation date of July-September 2023 was possible albeit with significant risk.

The Gateway Review does not give a breakdown of preparedness estimates for individual businesses. Businesses interviewed separately by SG typically gave ranges of preparedness estimates, which broadly aligned with the findings of the Gateway Review, rather than an exact time.

Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) projects that 29 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will incur a net financial benefit from the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Local authorities are also expected to benefit from a reduction in the impact of litter, and from efficiencies to collection services following the implementation of DRS.

ZWS has no current plans to update its modelling. However, it is engaging with individual local authorities, in particular the three currently projected not to make savings, to assess the impacts of DRS on them and look at options for service improvements.