- The purpose of this Technical Note is to inform Members of the current Scottish Government consultations on the proposed Circular Economy Bill and Circular Economy Delivery Route Map to 2025. The response deadline for both of these consultation is 22nd August 2022.
- Officers are working to respond to this consultation in line with approved Council strategies and policies. Other Services are being involved in the response as required. A Report will be submitted to August 2022 Place, Neighbourhood and Corporate Assets Committee with the draft response for consideration prior to its submission to the Scottish Government. Elected Members are welcome to provide comments to officers should they wish, prior to 15 July 2022, for inclusion in the response.
- The following paragraphs summarise the consultations.
- Circular Economy Bill: This consultation sets out proposed legislation aimed at accelerating the transition to a Circular Economy in Scotland. The proposals for the Circular Economy Bill are set out under four themes, and can be summarised as follows.
Strategic Interventions – It is proposed that a duty is placed on Scottish Ministers to produce or refresh a Circular Economy Strategy every five years (the most recent strategy was published in 2016).
It is also proposed that a monitoring framework should be developed for the Circular Economy, including additional powers to set statutory targets aimed at reducing consumption, and that a Circular Economy public body should be established to support delivery.
Reduce and Reuse – The consultation paper proposes the introduction of measures to ban the destruction of unsold goods, which could be introduced in phases starting with materials and products with the highest environmental impact. It is also proposed that environmental charging be introduced for single-use items such as disposable beverage cups. Additionally, the Bill could start the process of giving Scottish Ministers powers to require mandatory public reporting of unwanted surplus stock and waste of certain materials by Scottish businesses – which would be introduced in secondary legislation with further consultation.
Recycle – It is proposed that Scottish Ministers are enabled to place additional requirements on local authorities regarding household collection services, perhaps as part of a move away from the voluntary approach to Scotland's Household Recycling Charter towards a more mandated approach. Development of this would be linked to the forthcoming changes that will be brought about by the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility and the Deposit Return Scheme. The consultation paper also proposes the introduction of statutory recycling targets for local authorities, to be developed by Scottish Ministers working with local government. Some potential new powers for local authorities could be introduced by the Bill to encourage or require householders to fulfil their recycling responsibilities and to incentivise positive household behaviours with regards to waste reduction and recycling (for example through penalties for improper waste disposal and/or removal of uplift charges for recyclable materials). Additionally it is proposed that commercial waste zoning approaches are investigated, which would require waste collection contracts to cover a whole zone rather than being contracted to individual businesses.
Littering and Improving Enforcement – The consultation paper proposes that the Scottish Government be given powers to introduce a new penalty for littering from vehicles and also to give enforcement authorities the right to seize vehicles involved in waste crime. These two measures would be similar to existing legislation in England and Wales.
- Delivering Scotland’s circular economy: A Route Map to 2025 and beyond: This consultation seeks views on strategic measures to meet the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy goals between now and 2025, and looking beyond to 2030. The proposals are set out within seven change packages, as follows.
Package 1: Promote responsible consumption, production and re-use – In addition to the environmental charging proposals in the Circular Economy Bill, recommended measures include publishing a prioritised approach to product stewardship, investigating the feasibility of a national reuse target, identifying ways to expand business models that prolong product lifespan, and running a national communications campaign focused on sustainable consumption.
Package 2: Reduce food waste – The Scottish Government aim to produce a food waste behaviour change strategy to help Scottish households to reduce food waste. Enhanced support would also be provided for businesses and organisations to reduce food waste and promote a circular bioeconomy, and additional funding would be considered to strengthen community food redistribution networks. The consultation paper also proposes an investigation of the feasibility of food waste reduction action plans by 2024, including collecting more data to understand the scale and impact of food waste.
Package 3: Improve recycling from households – It is proposed that the Scottish Government facilitate a process to improve household recycling and reuse services with households, COSLA, local authorities and service operators, including strengthening the monitoring and reporting framework for local authority waste services. There could be a new requirement on local authorities to report publicly on end destination of household recycling collected and powers for Scottish Ministers to introduce statutory recycling local performance targets for household waste services. It is also proposed that the Scottish Government will undertake a review of waste and recycling service charging.
Package 4: Improve recycling from commercial businesses – The consultation paper proposes conducting a national compositional study of waste from commercial premises, and consideration of a commercial waste zoning pilot per the proposed Circular Economy Bill. It is also proposed that the Scottish Government work with businesses on measures, including targeted communications, to improve commercial waste service provisions that drive waste prevention and reuse, with a particular focus on food waste recycling.
Package 5: Embed circular construction practices – The Scottish Government will work with industry to accelerate the adoption of best practice standards and will investigate options to incentivise refurbishment of buildings. A Scottish Programme for Reuse of Construction Materials and Assets is also proposed, along with some measures for specific materials – identifying ways to reduce soil and stones going to landfill; incentivising the use of secondary aggregates; and developing a soil symbiosis programme.
Package 6: Minimise the impact of disposal – It is proposed that the Scottish Government develop a Residual Waste Plan to set a strategic direction for management of residual waste to 2045. A sector-led plan to restrict the incineration of fossil materials is also suggested for 2024. Additionally it is proposed that Scottish Ministers investigate fiscal measures to incentivise low carbon disposal, including the potential to include energy from waste in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Package 7: Cross-cutting measures – As set out in more detail in the Circular Economy Bill consultation paper, it is proposed that a duty be imposed on the Scottish Government to produce a Circular Economy Strategy and monitoring framework.
Additional measures include: undertaking a programme of research on waste prevention, behaviour change, fiscal incentives and material-specific priorities; developing public procurement opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of public spending; and supporting greater uptake of green skills, training, and development opportunities.
- The above consultations have implications for a number of Council Services and officers are currently considering these. There are also implications for householders and the local community.
- It is noted that the Council is working on its own Circular Economy Strategy, Place, Neighbourhood and Corporate Assets Committee PNCA/052/21/AL approved the commencement of this work. An update on this work will be provided in the report on the Circular Economy Bill noted in paragraph 2.