Takeaway food packaging suppliers are asking the Scottish Government for permission to carry on selling “banned” single use polystyrene boxes, and throwaway plastic items like forks, cups and stirrers.
They claim they were in the dark about the ban that came in on June 1 prohibiting these items and have had no time to sell off surplus stock.
Across Scotland, wholesalers are calling for a moratorium to allow stocks of banned single use plastics to be sold and used, instead of thrown straight into landfill.
But the Scottish Government insists businesses were given ample notice via a radio, digital and email campaign – and says surplus stock should be “recycled where possible”.
‘Excess stock we cannot shift’
Across Scotland, there are tens of thousands of pounds worth of banned plastic items sitting in warehouses.
At MacGregor Industrial Supplies in Inverness 10,000 polystyrene burger boxes sit in limbo, unopened on a pallet.
Alison Buchan, hygiene and catering sales manager, said that although she agrees with the premise of the ban, it has not been communicated properly, and has left businesses like hers with excess stock that they cannot shift.
“We have had nothing, no information, from the Scottish Government, from anybody,” she said.
“As a company, we have been getting so many mixed messages, everyone in the trade is as confused as each other.”
Under the new ban, MacGregor’s is not allowed to sell these single use items and the Scottish government recommends they are recycled “where possible”.
However, these items are not widely-recyclable, and it is likely that the majority would end up in landfill.
If companies were to follow the government’s advice and recycle these products they would likely have to pay privately to do so.
This is on top of the sunk costs already incurred by these firms purchasing products they cannot sell.
‘They should be used before being sent to landfill’
Food Service Packaging Association chief Martin Kersh says it would be “ridiculous and almost criminal” to ask companies to throw these unused plastics straight into landfill.
Mr Kersh acknowledges that under the ban these items can no longer be sold but he has been in discussion with the Scottish Government to try to make the best of the situation.
“Scotland can do something really brilliant here,” he said.
“The Scottish Government can put it all together in one big pallet and use it to give to charities that help to feed the homeless, or they could package it all up and send it to the Polish-Ukrainian border.”
“That would be stunning and people would get a really good feeling about that.”
‘We desperately need a moratorium’
Ian Queen, head of Marshal Wilson, Scotland’s largest distributor of these banned plastic products, said the overwhelming feeling in the industry is “frustration”.
In his warehouse he has considerable stock leftover which he really needs to sell.
Mr Queen says the Scottish Government’s advice to recycle the unused products is an “insult to injury”.
“To be asked to pay for the recycling of, or disposing of, it as well would be an insult,” he said.
“There are many companies struggling now, further penalties right now would be unbearable which is why a moratorium on this single use plastics ban would be a fair and reasonable way of dealing with the remaining stock which will still be in circulation.”
Single use plastic ban ‘shambolic’
The Press and Journal was at COP26 last year when Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater unveiled Scotland’s single use plastics ban.
We spoke with @lornaslater of the @scottishgreens about the plans revealed today for banning many single use plastics in Scotland, like cutlery. We asked about the impact on businesses that use such plastics. Lorna says "Polystyrene is a thing of the past". Watch below 👇 #cop26 pic.twitter.com/3nLxZxnrTZ
— Kieran Beattie (@KNBeattie) November 11, 2021
It was formally introduced on June 1 of this year, but a loophole means the rule is not as effective as first thought.
This loophole is the UK Internal Market Act which allows businesses from all parts of the UK to trade unhindered with each other.
The packaging industry says this makes a mockery of the ban because products made in England can still legally be sold and used in Scotland.
Scotland had to engage with the UK government to get an exemption from this rule.
The exemption has been granted but is not yet in place and still needs to be debated in the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
Mr Queen said: “Given that the Scottish Government knew from an early stage that they would need to engage with the UK government to get the ban fully in place, why they would they not just wait until that piece of the jigsaw was in place before bringing it in?
“There would have been no ambiguity but what we have now can only be described as a shambolic implementation of a ban.”
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