News
19 January, 2026
Lord Sandison issues Opinion in Biffa’s claim over bottle return scheme
Lord Sandison has issued his Opinion in Biffa Waste Services Limited v The Scottish Ministers [2026] CSOH 3. Ampersand’s Paul Reid KC appeared for the Scottish Ministers along with Gerry Moynihan KC and Victoria Arnott, advocate.
The action concerned losses Biffa said it suffered following the postponement of Scotland’s deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers. The scheme was delayed in May 2023 after the UK Government granted only a partial exclusion from the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, which meant the scheme could not proceed on the basis originally intended because glass containers were not covered.
Biffa argued that the Scottish Ministers had assumed responsibility for the scheme’s deliverability and, on that basis, owed a duty of care to warn that an IMA exclusion was required and still outstanding. It also maintained that a May 2022 ministerial letter amounted to a negligent misrepresentation by providing reassurance about deliverability without disclosing the unresolved IMA position.
Lord Sandison rejected those arguments. He held that no duty of care arose here and that there had been no assumption of responsibility for the scheme’s deliverability. He also concluded that the May 2022 letter was not misleading and did not amount to negligent misrepresentation. Decree of absolvitor was therefore granted in favour of the defenders.
You can find a copy of Lord Sandison’s Opinion here. BBC news article is here.