ALDI aim to get rid of four parking spaces at their Dalgety Bay store to make way for a "reverse vending machine".

The retailer is making plans now for the Scottish Government's Deposit and Return Scheme which aims to recycle plastic bottles, aluminium and steel cans and glass bottles.

Consumers should be able to take single-use containers back and get a 20p deposit from any retailer selling drinks covered by the scheme.

But Aldi need Fife Council's permission to reduce the number of parking spaces at their Ridgeway store by four.

Agents for the supermarket chain explained: "The Scottish Government have announced the introduction of a deposit return scheme in July 2022 for drink containers, meaning that retailers will have a legal requirement to accept returns of empty drinks receptacles for recycling.

"Aldi's response to this is to use a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) that scans containers when they are returned and then refunds the customer.

"Due to the high volume of footfall in Aldi stores, there is expected to be a high use of these machines, collecting up to 24,500 units on a weekly basis.

"The RVMs are available in a range of sizes and Aldi will seek to use the largest size where possible in order to meet the anticipated demand.

"Due to the size of these units and the typically highly-efficient layout of an Aldi store, it is not physically possible to locate the machines within the building, therefore it is necessary to accommodate these units within the existing car park, which will result in the loss of a small number of of either car-parking spaces or pavement areas."

At Dalgety Bay, the plan is to relocate four disabled parking spaces to "another suitable location" to make way for the RVM.

If the council agree, this will ensure there is no net loss in the number of disabled parking spaces but the overall number of spaces will drop from 88 to 84.

Like Dalgety Bay, the Cowdenbeath store will also lose some car-parking spaces while, in Dunfermline, the plan is to actually increase provision from 90 to 94.

The planning statement for Duloch Park suggests: "The unit (RVM) will be erected in the area of the car park that is landscaped; that means there is scope to construct parking spaces beside the unit for those people using the RVM to deposit their empty bottles."

Family-friendly and disabled parking spaces will be protected and reallocated to other spaces, the retail store stated.