Holyrood

The Firm which was due to manage a controversial recycling Scheme in Scotland has appointed administrators.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater told MSPs The collapse of Circularity Scotland was a " disaster" for its 60 workers.

The Company was in charge of The Deposit return Scheme (DRS) which has been delayed until 2025.

Ms Slater blamed The Firm 's demise on The UK government's insistence that glass be excluded.

But opposition parties said she was refusing to take responsibility for The collapse of The Firm , and called on her to quit as The government's circular economy minister.

Ms Slater told The Scottish Parliament : " We have learned today that a process is under way is to appoint administrators to CSL [Circularity Scotland Ltd] leaving their staff in extremely difficult position.

" This is an unforgiveable consequence of The UK government's 11Th Hour intervention which undermined our deposit return Scheme , made progress impossible and is now resulting in these jobs being lost. "

She added: " We set out what we were going to do, The UK government changed their mind at The Last minute. "

It was reported last week that Circularity Scotland was on The Brink of collapse, with staff sent home and The board unable to say whether they would be paid this month.

The Scottish Government 's flagship recycling Scheme was supposed to launch in March next year, having already been delayed from a planned launch date in August.

A 20p deposit would be added to cost of items sold in Scotland And Then The customer would get that money back when they took The empty container to a return point, either over-The -counter at a shop or using an automated reverse vending machine.

But earlier this month it was announced it would be further

It came after The UK government agreed to grant an exemption to internal market rules but Only If The Scheme excluded glass to bring it into line with similar schemes planned elsewhere.

The BBC has heard claims from sources close to Circularity Scotland that staff have not been paid a full month's wages.

However, Ms Slater told The Chamber it was her understanding that staff had been paid for The Work they have done.

She Said staff had also been offered support from Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (Pace) - The government's redundancy support service.

Circularity Scotland's official logistics service partner for The DRS project, Biffa, was set to open a state-of-The -art recycling facility in Portlethen in Aberdeenshire with The Creation of up to 60 jobs.

The Site was due to be operational this summer.

However, it was deserted and gates closed on Tuesday afternoon.

A recycling system might not seem like The obvious trigger for a showdown between governments.

But The Deposit return Scheme - already rocked by delays and industry concerns - has become The subject of a furious dispute between ministers in Edinburgh and London.

The Scottish Government says The Scheme has been scuppered by conditions set by UK counterparts; opponents say that is an excuse to cover for The fact The plans were unworkable.

It has all come at a cost for The businesses which have invested in infrastructure and return points, and now at The expense of dozens of jobs at The Firm Set Up to run The Scheme .

A source close to Circularity Scotland said no rescue package or redundancy was available for staff, who haven't been paid in full for The Last month.

And they said The Firm had been caught in The crossfire between Westminster and Holyrood - which could have prevented The Scottish Government from stepping in to help as they might with another firm.

On Friday drinks manufacturers and retailers said they did not have The confidence to continue funding The Firm .

The British Beer and Pub Association, The British Soft Drinks Association and The Scottish Retail Consortium said " political uncertainty" had disrupted DRS plans.

Meanwhile, The Scottish Conservatives have in Ms Slater - a vote will be held on Tuesday evening.

MSP Maurice Golden said Ms Slater was " refusing to take any responsibility" for The collapse of The DRS.

He Said : " Circularity Scotland themselves, like The UK government and other stakeholders, were absolutely clear that The Scheme could have remained viable and gone ahead without glass, but instead she pulled The Plug .

" The Loss of jobs and The eye-watering sums invested - for which Scottish firms should be compensated - are entirely due to her stubborn and petulant decisions.

" No minister who has failed on such a scale can possibly command any confidence and she must now go. "

Source of news: bbc.com