The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) is collating retailers’ views on how they would be impacted by legislation the Scottish Government is set to introduce that could impose a minimum charge on single-use beverage cups.
SGF believes a public consultation on the specifics of these proposals will be launched in the coming months, following the recently passed Circular Economy Bill, which grants Ministers and local authorities new powers to increase reuse and recycling rates, as well as to modernise and improve waste and recycling services.
The Government hopes that a charge for single-use cups will incentivise customers to switch to reusable alternatives. The value of the charge has yet to be determined. However, it has been proposed that the charge could be approximately 20-25p for every cup.
SGF wants to know how retailers’ trade might be impacted by such a charge and whether it could result in customer hostility and frustration. The Single-use cups charge survey takes around three minutes to complete and will be critical for informing the SGF’s consultation response and improving engagement with the Scottish Government. The survey will be open until 1st September.
Proposals to cut the number of single-use, disposable items like cups, received high levels of support in the draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map consultation, which asked for views on the priority actions needed between now and the end of the decade to increase reuse and recycling, cut waste and drive further decarbonisation. More than 70% of respondents backed proposals to introduce a charge on single use, disposable items.
