The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has pushed for the Scottish Government to abandon plans for a new levy on disposable cups.
In a response to the government’s consultation, which closed on the 14th of November, SRC argued:
- The levy will change whether consumers buy drinks, not whether they choose reusable alternatives.
- The levy will impact on the least affluent consumers most heavily
- Many retailers and hospitality businesses will not be able to administer the levy, nor practically offer reusable alternatives
- There will be a discrete impact on food-to-go businesses already under significant pressure from weak sales and increasing costs
- The Government should instead focus on improving recycling infrastructure and collection alongside supporting the wide range of industry initiatives
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of SRC, said:
“Scotland’s shops, cafes, and restaurants are already taking significant steps to reduce waste, increase reuse and recycling of cups, and help move to a more circular economy. A cups charge will do very little to help that, whilst hitting both businesses and consumers in the pocket.
“Adding a charge to drinks on the go is more likely to affect whether consumers buy the drink in the first place, rather than encourage them to use a reusable cup. The idea consumers will treat cups the same way as shopping bags is implausible. Not least that many hospitality businesses cannot realistically offer reusable alternatives because they sell self-service drinks, deliver drinks, or don’t have the capacity to safely clean customers cups. A far better option would be to work with industry on the range of initiatives, such as the National Cup Recycling Scheme, Borrow Cup, and the use of discounts and rewards to incentivise the use of a reusable cup over a single-use one; along with investing in recycling capacity and infrastructure.
“If the Government press forwards with these plans in the face of industry concerns, then we hope they will recognise the significant challenges for many, including smaller businesses, in turning this idea into practical implementable policy. Whilst we recognise Government wants to take action to improve recycling and reuse rates across Scotland, that can only be done with proportionate policymaking. We don’t believe a new charge on cups passes that test.”
