Green Minister Lorna Slater accused of 'failure' after snubbing key deposit return scheme firm

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Green Minister Lorna Slater has been criticised for repeatedly snubbing a key trade body on her controversial deposit return scheme.GS1 UK, which has international expertise on barcodes, was unable to secure a meeting with Slater and had to reach out to a Labour MSP for help.The Scottish Government’s DRS, which aims to boost recycling rates, is in chaos over a damaging dispute with Whitehall.Conservative ministers, who possess a veto on the Holyrood scheme, said it could only go ahead if glass was excluded.This prompted the SNP/Green Government to delay the scheme until October 2025 at the earliest.An entry in Holyrood’s lobbying register has now raised questions about Slater’s communication with business on the scheme.A summary of a meeting between GS1 UK and Labour MSP Sarah Boyack in May stated:“We highlighted that although GS1 UK has on a number of occasions reached out to the responsible Minister, no contact was forthcoming, and asked if the member could assist in raising this issue further.”GS1 is a not-for-profit whose members cover 90 per cent of the producers and exporters who would be affected by the DRS.Their global standards on barcodes and QR codes are used in deposit return schemes across the world.Boyack said: "Throughout the entirety of the DRS debacle, SNP and Green MSPs have delivered a chaotic and incompetent approach to law making."I repeatedly raised the potential to meet this organisation several times without receiving a reply from government.

I then asked in the chamber if Ms Slater would be meeting with the company, to which I was told 'there would be no point.'"The failure to engage meaningfully with the sector affected by DRS ultimately caused its failure.