Pressure is building for a new recycling project to be delayed.
The Scottish Government’s deposit return scheme (DRS) is due to be introduced in August, with people receiving money back when they return their cans and bottles.
However, the programme has attracted widespread criticism, with Allen Henderson of Sulwath Brewers in Castle Douglas describing it as “ill-thought out on so many levels”.
All three of the candidates in the SNP leadership have revealed they would either delay or change the scheme.
And now South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has also called for a delay during a Holyrood debate.
The Labour MSP said: “There remain a number of issues with the scheme as it is currently proposed that need to be addressed.
“Let us be clear: those concerns are not just about big business lobbying. They are primarily the concerns of small businesses, in my region and others, that are simply trying to survive.
“That includes the small gin distillery in Galloway that I recently visited.
“It has one stock keeping unit with one bottle design, but it will now need to order twice as many bottles with every order because of minimum order levels, although it has simply nowhere to store them. In the same way, the local shop that I spoke to at the weekend has nowhere to store glass bottle returns.
“We want to work with the government to make the changes that are needed so that the scheme that is delivered is successful and supports small businesses, because that would be a genuine jobs-first just transition.
“We have failed to give those small businesses the information that they needed for a fair lead-in time.
“We should consider an opt-in rather than an opt-out option for small retailers, and exemptions for low-volume producers.”
The DRS is due to begin on August 16. People will pay an extra 20p when they buy a drink in a can or plastic or glass bottle, which they will receive back when they return the container for recycling.
Last week Circularity Scotland announced plans for £22 million of support to help firms handle the introduction of the scheme.
And this week Scotland’s Circular Economy Minister, Green MSP Lorna Slater, admitted there could be an exemption for small businesses but had no plans to delay its introduction.
In an interview with BBC Scotland, she said: “No one with any credibility to support business in Scotland would delay the scheme any further because those businesses that have made that substantial investment, those shops that have got their planning permission for their reverse vending machines, they don’t get their return on that investment until those 20 pences start flowing. The question on the table and the sensible question is what small producers can do to become compliant with the scheme, we’ve been working very closely with small producers, we’ve got an extra £22 million of cash on the table, cash flow support for them last week, we’ve got support for labelling, we’re working through the issues.
