Lorna Slater survived a vote of no confidence in her role as circular economy minister on Tuesday, and opposition attempts to oust her failed at Holyrood over the Deposit Return Scheme.
The Scotsman reported that the party’s whips warned that voting for the Slater-related no-confidence motion on Tuesday would result in them losing the whip.
Ewing was the only SNP MSP to vote against the Scottish government, along with the Tory, Labor and LibDem MSPs.
He said after voting to remove Slater: “The minister responsible for the plan does not enjoy the confidence of business.
“I have therefore voted to seek a new appointed minister to take charge of this troublesome matter to deal with the huge consequences of numerous compensation claims and reconsider again how best to achieve recycling targets.”
Ewing (pictured above) is a longtime critic of the recycling scheme and has become a thorn in the side of his own party on a number of policies.
In May, he tore up a copy of the Scottish government’s Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA) consultation during a member’s debate.
If Ewing loses the whip, he will be forced to sit as an independent MSP.
An SNP spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have won this vote convincingly – an SNP MSP failing to whip the whip in this case is an internal party matter, to be considered by the whip leader in due course.”