A LANARKSHIRE grocer has been given permission to take the Scottish Government’s flagship deposit return scheme to judicial review.

Abdul Majid – whose Bellshill convenience store took part in a trial of the new flagship recycling programme – has raised the court action over the handling fees being paid to retailers.

Under the new system, every single-use drinks container sold in Scotland – plastic bottles, cans or glass – will be subject to a 20p deposit.

Drinkers will get their money back when their empty container is returned.

Circularity Scotland, which administers the scheme, has proposed that retailers get 2.69p for every item deposited. For automated returns, the fee would be 3.55p for the first 8,000 before dropping to 1.35p.

Mr Majid is being supported by the Scottish Grocers’ Federation.

Dr Pete Cheema from the industry body said they were “committed to a fit-for-purpose deposit return scheme, but for that to happen, recognition must be given and action taken to address the concerns around retailer handling fee levels, which has been raised in Mr Majid’s petition”.

A Circularity Scotland spokesperson defended the scheme: “The return handling fee for Scotland’s deposit return scheme will be the highest of any scheme anywhere in the world and was calculated following close consultation with industry and analysis of existing schemes in different countries. 

“We continue to work closely with government and industry, including retailers and producers of all sizes, to ensure that the scheme operates as effectively, efficiently and at as low a cost as possible from when it goes live in August 2023. 

“This has already seen new guidance from the Scottish Government to streamline the exemption process for those retailers who don’t wish to operate as a return point.”