THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 121, February 2023
Dog of the month: Fergus Theatre of Wine, London
Indies braced for chaos as recycling deadline nears Scottish merchants pin hopes on a last-minute delay to Deposit Return Scheme as registration cut-off approaches
M
erchants in Scotland are calling
for a delay to the Deposit Return Scheme that they fear will be a
disaster for their businesses.
Most independent wine retailers are
hoping for a complete overhaul of the
and consultation for the scheme has been
proposed scheme, but there is still the
glass bottles will be excluded from its own
• Analysis – page 8.
handled.
The UK government has indicated that
possibility that the Welsh government will follow Scotland’s example.
plans as they stand, which require all
their suppliers to register with an agency called Circularity Scotland and ensure
that barcodes appear on all bottles so that
empties can be traced through the system. The deadline for registration with the
scheme – which will involve a 20p deposit on bottles – is this week (February 17),
with the new regime coming into force on August 16.
But merchants say there is still not
enough detail about how the scheme will
operate in practice, and it seems clear that independent shops will be disadvantaged by comparison to the supermarkets.
Despite widespread opposition to the
DRS plans from the trade, the Scottish government seemed determined to
press on with the proposals as The Wine Merchant went to press. Merchants
including Peter Wood of St Andrews
Wine Co, who has been on a social media awareness campaign, believe that the
scheme will restrict their ability to list wines from smaller producers.
Traders fear that there is little awareness
of the DRS even among UK-based suppliers and have criticised the way the publicity
Vineyards at Chénas, Beaujolais
The Wee Vinoteca has expanded beyond its Hitchin base with a second shop at Burwash Manor, near Cambridge, previously run by Cozzi & Boffa. Story on page 7.