Circularity Scotland calls in administrators following deposit return delay
The scheme has been pushed back until at least October 2025
Circularity Scotland, the non-profit company set up to run the deposit return scheme (DRS), has called in administrators.
There had been speculation about its future following the decision to delay the scheme until at least October 2025.
The Scottish Government blamed Westminster's refusal to allow glass in the scheme for the latest delay.
However the UK Government said the delay was entirely the decision of ministers in Edinburgh.
Circular economy minister Lorna Slater was asked about Circularity Scotland in Holyrood today.
She told MSPs: "We have learned today that the process is under way to appoint administrators to CSL (Circularity Scotland Ltd), leaving their staff in an extremely difficult position.
"This is an unforgivable consequence of the UK Government's 11th-hour intervention, which undermined our deposit return scheme, made progress impossible and is now resulting in these jobs being lost."
She said she had thanked staff for their hard work and expressed deep regret about the situation.
Earlier, Circularity Scotland said staff had been told to go home amid uncertainty over the company's future.
It was funded by the drinks industry and employed 66 staff.
Labour's Sarah Boyack said Circularity Scotland had said the DRS could go ahead without glass.
She asked: "How do we know what is going to happen next?
"Because the minister (Ms Slater) claimed she didn't know last week when we were all reading it in the newspapers."
Ms Slater said other "unreasonable conditions" the UK Government sought to impose on the scheme, such as the need for a unified deposit level across the UK, also led to it being delayed.
In response to a question about the Scottish National Investment Bank's £9 million investment in Circularity Scotland, she said this is a confidential matter between the bank and the company.
Response from the Conservatives
Following Ms Slater's statement, the Conservatives repeated their calls for her to quit.
MSP Maurice Golden said: "Despite confirming that Circularity Scotland has gone into administration - something that she admitted was a 'disaster' for its workforce - Lorna Slater is still refusing to take any responsibility for the collapse of her deposit return scheme.
"Circularity Scotland themselves, like the UK Government and other stakeholders, were absolutely clear that the scheme could have remained viable and gone ahead without glass, but instead she pulled the plug."
The UK Government said it will continue to work with the devolved administrations on a UK-wide deposit return solution.
A spokesman said: "Earlier this year the drinks industry raised concerns about the Scottish Government's deposit return scheme differing from plans in the rest of the UK.
"The UK Government listened and worked at pace to accept the Scottish Government's request for a UK Internal Market (UKIM) exclusion on a temporary and limited basis to ensure the Scottish Government's scheme could proceed while aligning with planned schemes for the rest of the UK.
"The chief executive of Circularity Scotland was categorical that the scheme remained viable on this basis and that many other successful schemes run without glass.
"But the Scottish Government decided not to proceed and instead further paused the scheme until October 2025.
"Delaying the Scottish scheme was entirely a decision made by the Scottish Government."
Reaction from DRS source
A DRS source said: "Circularity Scotland staff have been caught in the crossfire of political ill will.
"They are a committed team who really believed in the benefits DRS could bring to Scotland but now they are left with no wages for their notice periods or redundancy pay.
"The Scottish Government, with the support of the parliament, should now provide staff with the financial support they deserve.
"It's hard to believe that DRS, which was supported by all parties at the outset, has descended into disaster for these staff and indeed for Scotland as a whole. Any prospect of retaining the DRS knowledge and investment made by Circularity Scotland has been squandered."