NICOLA Sturgeon has insisted that Scotland’s deposit return scheme will still be “the most environmentally ambitious” in Europe – despite fears being raised over the SNP-Greens' “rushed and ill-thought-out" flagship policy.

The Scottish Government will now launch its deposit return scheme in August 2023, but ministers have been under fire for a lack of a digital element unlike in other countries and the administration of the waste-reducing policy being handed over to a private company, Circulatory Scotland, instead of a public body.

The deposit return scheme will lead to people paying a 20p deposit when they buy a drink that comes in a single-use container. They will get their money back when they return the empty container to one of tens of thousands of return points.

Earlier this week, The Herald revealed the deposit return scheme risked being out of date before it had even started because ministers had failed to include a digital element which would allow bottles to be returned in kerbside collections instead of the need for a reverse vending machine.

READ MORE: Warning SNP-Greens' deposit return scheme 'out of date before it has started'

Tory MSP Brian Whittle pressed Ms Sturgeon over the concerns at First Minister's Questions.

The FM insisted that the scheme has been held up “due to the impact of Covid and Brexit on businesses “as well as the UK Government’s decision “to charge VAT on deposits”.

She added: “I have full confidence in the steps that industry is taking to deliver DRS, including work that is being done through Circularity Scotland.

“I look forward to seeing significant progress in the course of this year, including signed contracts to deliver infrastructure and logistics work beginning on counting centres.”

But Mr Whittle pointed to a string of concerns including a lack of detail over how the deposit return scheme will work in reality.

READ MORE: Greens minister Lorna Slater has 'lost control' of firm delivering deposit return scheme

He said: “Repeated delays, the use of a private company to avoid scrutiny and accountability, and a staggering lack of detail about how the scheme will work in practice have left the public baffled and businesses worried.

“A recent Welsh Government pilot of a digital scheme allowing homeowners to participate in a DRS by using kerbside collection and avoiding the need for bottles to be transported to reverse vending machines has yielded some interesting results, yet the Scottish Government scheme has no facility for that.

"Meanwhile, the Scottish Government minister for the circular economy has spent more time announcing delays than she has addressing public concerns.

“From the outset, the Scottish Government has seemed more interested in headlines and crowing about beating the rest of the United Kingdom to a DRS than in setting out the details of how its system will work.

“Will the First Minister now accept that a practical and effective UK-wide system that takes a little longer to arrive would be a better option than the rushed and ill-thought-out mess that she and her Green party partners are presiding over?”

The First Minister accused the Conservative MSP of “utter hypocrisy” pointing to comments made by his colleague Annie Wells in 2020 that the scheme should be delayed.

READ MORE: Greens minister Lorna Slater lobbied by industry 48 hours before delaying deposit return scheme

Ms Sturgeon said: “We are taking forward a scheme that will be the most environmentally ambitious and the most accessible scheme anywhere in Europe. We are working on the detail of delivery of that right now.

“Over the course of this year, we are going to see significant progress. We are going to see the contract signed and the infrastructure start to take shape.

“We will then have the first scheme in the UK and, I suspect, even if they are out of their current shambles, the UK Government might still only be thinking about it.”