SNP presses ahead with 25p ‘latte levy’ despite warnings
SNP ministers are to press ahead with plans to introduce a 25p charge on disposable cups, dubbed a “latte levy”, despite businesses warning not to do so in a struggling economy.
The Scottish Government has launched a new consultation on proposals for the 25p charge to all single-use cups by the end of 2025 and follows the approval of circular economy legislation by MSPS in June.
Officials have stressed there would be exemptions for specific locations and uses such as in schools and free drinks in hospitals, but there are concerns about the impact on disabled people who can have no choice but to use disposable cups.
Under the plans as they stand, retailers would be able to “retain reasonable implementation costs from the charge” in a similar way to the approach for single-use carrier bags. But ministers are still pondering whether the net proceeds from the charge should be kept by the businesses or collected by local councils or the Scottish Government.
The plans could also be a key test or relations between the UK and Scottish governments following Westminster, under the Tories, blocking Scotland’s troubled deposit return scheme over internal market rules.
An estimated 388 million single-use cups were used in Scotland in 2021-22, creating 5,400 tonnes of waste. When the 5p charge on carrier bags was introduced in 2014 in scotland, their use plummeted by 80 per cent in the first year.
Acting SNP net zero secretary, Gillian Martin, said: “The success of the single-use carrier bag charge shows how an environmental charge can be an effective tool to change people’s behaviour and encourage responsible consumption.
“Introducing a national charge could provide consistency for consumers, provide a level playing field for retail and businesses and help to drive forward sustainable behaviours.our proposed approach is similar to the charge for single-usecarrier bags and will be familiar to suppliers and the public .” But Ewan Macdonald-russell,deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, warned businesses “question, at a time where the economy is flatlining and high streets are struggling, whether this is the time to introduce a new cost to hard-pressed consumers”.