NFRN members north of the Border have added their voices to calls for a deposit refund scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles and cans in Scotland, and have agreed to a proactive policy of engagement with like-minded stakeholders in a bid to increase recycling levels within Scotland.
The decision was taken yesterday (March 20) by delegates at the NFRN’s Scottish Conference, held in Dundee.
Gail Winfield, the newly-elected President of the NFRN in Scotland, commented: “NFRN members are responsible retailers who want to play a role in protecting the environment and who recognise the damage that plastic bottles and cans can do to their surroundings. It’s for that reason we have agreed to support the Scottish government’s aim of increasing the rate of recycling. However, we want to ensure that any schemes to achieve this are developed in co-operation with the independent retail sector.”
Despite admitting that other options to DRS were available, and raising concerns about the scheme’s practicalities, Winfield said: “We consider it an important enough issue to create a working party comprising likeminded groups to ensure that any deposit refund scheme that is implemented in the future allows independent retailers to fully play their part.”
NFRN Chief Executive Paul Baxter added: “With Westminster’s Environment Audit Committee now looking at the damage done to the environment by plastic bottles and by coffee cups, this is ceasing to be just a Scottish issue. The decision of the Federation’s National Executive Committee, supported by the Scottish Conference, to take a proactive position on these important issues shows how seriously independent retailers take their responsibilities to the local communities which they serve.”
