The company that was supposed to oversee a contentious recycling program in Scotland has appointed administrators.
Minister for the Circular Economy Lorna Slater told MSPs that the closure of Circularity Scotland was a "disaster" for its 60 employees.
The DRS, which has been postponed until 2025, was under the company's control.
The UK government's insistence that glass be excluded, Ms. Slater claimed, was to blame for the firm's demise.
In her address to the Scottish Parliament, she stated: "We have learned today that a process is underway to appoint administrators to CSL [Circularity Scotland Ltd], leaving their staff in a very precarious position.
"This is an unforgiveable result of the UK government's 11th-hour intervention, which undercut our deposit return scheme, prevented progress, and is now leading to the loss of these jobs," the statement continued. ".
The flagship recycling program of the Scottish government was originally scheduled to begin operations in August but was postponed until March of the following year.
When purchasing an item in Scotland, a 20p deposit would be added to the price; the customer would receive their deposit back when they returned the empty container to a return location, either in person at a store or using an automated reverse vending machine.
However, earlier this month it was revealed that it would be further postponed, possibly until October 2025.
It happened after the UK government consented to grant an exemption to internal market regulations, but only if the program excluded glass to make it consistent with other programs of a similar nature planned elsewhere.
A vote on a motion of no confidence in Ms. Slater, put forth by the Scottish Conservatives, will take place on Tuesday night.
Maurice Golden, a MSP, claimed that Ms. Slater was "refusing to take any responsibility" for the DRS.'s demise.
"Circularity Scotland themselves, as well as 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," he said.
"Her obstinate and petulant choices are entirely to blame for the lost jobs and the eye-watering sums invested, for which Scottish firms should be reimbursed. She must now resign because no minister who has failed in this way can possibly inspire confidence. ".
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