British waste management company Biffa is pursuing legal action against the Scottish government in connection with the delayed launch of the nation's deposit return system (DRS) for beverage containers. The company was selected by DRS Circularity Scotland Limited as the logistics partner for the delivery of the DRS when it was still slated to go live in August of 2023. That launch date was subsequently pushed back until March 2024, then to "October 2025 at the earliest" and most recently until October 2027.
According to a report by Scotland's Sunday Mail, Biffa is seeking £150m (around €174m) in restitution – around £55m for the investments in property, vehicles and counting equipment made by the company in preparation for the launch, and the remainder of the total for lost profits. A June 2023 letter from the waste company's CEO Michael Topham to Scotland's then-first minister Humza Yousaf had put the investment figure at £65m.
A spokesperson for Biffa told EUWID that Biffa's investment of "significant sums" to support the timely and successful implementation of the DRS had been "done in good faith and on the expectation and understanding that the delivery of the scheme had been mandated by the Scottish government". The company confirmed that it was taking legal action to seek appropriate compensation for the losses Biffa has incurred. No further comment was available due to the ongoing nature of the legal action.
Scotland was compelled to push off the launch of its deposit system as well as to exclude glass bottles from the scope by the British government, which is insisting on close alignment in the return systems set up by the UK's devolved governments. The Scottish go-live date and initial system scope were scrapped after it was clear that the required exemption under the UK Internal Market Act needed for it to go ahead as planned would not be granted.
