Scotlands Wine Problem
Update : The Uk Gov have now exempted Glass bottles from the scheme , much to the relief of small artisan distillers and Wine importers.
Ah, the Scottish crisis is brewing, my friends! The small shops and producers are in a spot of bother over this new recycling scheme - the dreaded DRS (Deposit Return Scheme). Aye, they've passed a law in Scotland that puts the burden of recycling on the producers and distributors instead of the consumer. But that's not the half of it. This scheme's got more twists than a snake in a sack.
The problem isn't that the businesses aren't into recycling - no, no, no. It's the way they've gone about it. The SNP, true to form, didn't think this one through properly. And the UK government, whether it's the Tories, the Labour, or the SNP, always makes things as complicated as possible.
Brexit hasn't helped matters either. The red tape on importing goods is a colossal ball-ache. And with these new regulations, small-time producers and distributors are getting the shaft. They can't export or import drinks - cider, beer, whiskey, or wine - without going through a labyrinth of paperwork and registrations. It's easier to smuggle enriched uranium into North Korea, I tell you.
Meanwhile, importing wine to Switzerland is a breeze. A damn phone app sorts out all the paperwork, taxes, and duties. It takes three minutes, for fuck's sake! You can do it on the way to the border hands-free with Siri. Apple Pay or Twint - no problem. But in the UK? 300 pages of paperwork, multiple company registrations, and even the exporter or vineyard needs to have a business registered in the UK. Madness, I tell you.
And now the Scots have this to deal with too. If you want to import goods into Scotland from Europe via England, you have to be registered with Circ Scotland. That's made it illegal for anyone to sell or import goods to Scotland that haven't registered for the scheme. But hold on a minute - Scotland's in the UK, and there are no trade barriers between the nations. What the hell is going on?
All labeling has to be changed in England or at the source before being exported to Scotland. The small producers are going to get screwed over, and the big players will benefit. There's going to be a pricing war, and industry insiders predict that over half of the current small beer producers in Scotland will go bust. Independent wine shops too.
The St Andrews wine company's Peter Wood is spitting feathers - 75% of his product range is unavailable because his English suppliers won't sign up to the scheme. And who can blame him? Distillers don't want a bar of it either. It's going to add even more red tape, cost them more money, and lead to a 20p tax increase on their bottles.
The only rational explanation for this madness is that Big Gov wants to be embedded into all aspects of UK business and personal life. They're creating jobs and quasi-government departments to scrape even more money from individuals and businesses in the way of legislation and stealth taxes.
Watch out, folks - victory coffee and wine are coming to a government store near you. This is just the beginning, my friends. We're hurtling towards a full-scale socialist utopia. Buckle up!
