Biffa Waste Services Ltd has launched legal action to recover nearly £200 million from Scottish ministers, citing significant losses from investment in the government's aborted bottle recycling scheme.
The company's legal team brought suit in the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court, seeking to recover a £150m loss incurred due to the collapse of the SNP and Green Party's flagship deposit return scheme, along with subsequent lost profits. Biffa will be represented by Roddy Dunlop KC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Biffa asserts that the Scottish Government misrepresented the viability of the scheme, and made personal guarantees from Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater, leading to Biffa investing £55 million in vehicles and equipment in preparation for the scheme. Slater, who was Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity from 2021 until this year, later scrapped the scheme in June last year.
The cancellation of the scheme followed the UK government's refusal to grant a full exclusion from the Internal Market Act, which prevented Scotland from including glass in its operations. Biffa has reportedly invested more than £65 million in preparing for the scheme.
A source revealed to the Sunday Mail that Biffa had agreed to the contract based on “written assurances from Lorna Slater that the scheme could be delivered and the Scottish Government would commit to it”. The source added that Biffa believes the Scottish Government “negligently neglected the assurance it provided” and failed to point out the need for UK Internal Market Bill approval.
A Biffa spokesperson said: “Biffa was selected by Circularity Scotland Limited to be the logistics partner for the delivery of the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme and has invested significant sums to support its timely and successful implementation. This was done in good faith and on the basis of the expectation and understanding that delivery of the scheme was commissioned by the Government.” Scottish.
He added: “After carefully reviewing our position with our advisors, we can confirm that we are taking legal action to obtain appropriate compensation for the losses incurred by BIFA.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson responded: “The Scottish Government cannot comment on ongoing litigation.”
The deposit return scheme aims to promote recycling by charging a 20p deposit on each drinks container, refundable when the container is returned. Biffa is set to collect all recycled containers across Scotland under a ten-year contract, with profits expected to exceed £100 million.