Market restrictions on single-use plastic items: consultation analysis
An analysis report summarising and describing the responses to the public consultation on introducing market restrictions on single-use plastic items in Scotland.
Annex 3: Friends of the Earth Scotland Campaign
This annex provides details of the campaign organised by Friends of the Earth Scotland to encourage responses to the consultation. The annex presents (i) the full campaign text, and (ii) an explanation of how the text has been allocated to individual consultation questions.
Campaign text
I am writing to respond to your consultation on introducing market restrictions on problematic single-use plastic items in Scotland. Please treat my email as an individual response.
Plastic is a major contributor to climate change and the more plastic we produce and consume, the more greenhouse gas emissions we release into the atmosphere. I am very concerned about the direct damage plastic is doing to our environment, and the effect single-use disposable plastic items have when they turn up on our beaches and in our oceans.
Therefore I fully support the Scottish Government's proposal to introduce a ban on the supply by businesses in a commercial capacity, supply in a non-commercial capacity and on the manufacturing of the following products:
- Single-use plastic cutlery
- Single-use plastic plates
- Single-use plastic straws (with exemptions for medical use and to support independent living)
- Single-use plastic beverage stirrers
- Single-use plastic balloon sticks
- Single-use food containers made of expanded polystyrene
- Single-use cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers, caps and lids
- All oxo-degradable products.
I also support market restrictions on other items the Scottish Government is considering such as plastic wet wipes and plastic tampons applicators. I note that other countries in Europe like France and Ireland are going even further than the Single-Use Plastic Directive, both setting ambitious targets to eliminate further single-use plastic items completely. I would urge the Scottish Government to adopt the best practices of these countries and support a ban on the following plastic items: condiment sachets, hotel toiletries, confetti, tea bags and free toys supplied with some food menus.
If we truly want to tackle the problem of plastic pollution then we must go further than the items under the Single-Use Plastics Directive including the introduction of an ambitious Circular Economy Bill with robust targets to reduce our overconsumption of resources.
It is also important than the conversation about tackling plastic pollution in Scotland addresses Ineos in Grangemouth, the largest producer of plastic in the UK. Ineos continues to import large volumes of fracked gas from the US to Scotland to make plastic which undermines the Scottish Government's current ban on fracking in Scotland. The longer we invest in or support the fossil fuel-based plastic industry which is heavily resource intensive, the longer we lock Scotland into increasing emissions that fuel the escalating climate crisis. I urge the Scottish Government to use the Grangemouth Future Industry Board to map out a Just Transition and strong future for Grangemouth with the phasing out of fossil fuel-based plastic production.
Allocation of campaign text to individual consultation questions
| Campaign statement | Question |
|---|---|
Plastic is a major contributor to climate change and the more plastic we produce and consume, the more greenhouse gas emissions we release into the atmosphere. I am very concerned about the direct damage plastic is doing to our environment, and the effect single-use disposable plastic items have when they turn up on our beaches and in our oceans. Therefore I fully support the Scottish Government's proposal to introduce a ban on the supply by businesses in a commercial capacity, supply in a non-commercial capacity and on the manufacturing of the following products:
|
Question 1 |
| I also support market restrictions on other items the Scottish Government is considering such as plastic wet wipes and plastic tampons applicators. I note that other countries in Europe like France and Ireland are going even further than the Single-Use Plastic Directive, both setting ambitious targets to eliminate further single-use plastic items completely. I would urge the Scottish Government to adopt the best practices of these countries and support a ban on the following plastic items: condiment sachets, hotel toiletries, confetti, tea bags and free toys supplied with some food menus. | Question 5 |
| If we truly want to tackle the problem of plastic pollution then we must go further than the items under the Single-Use Plastics Directive including the introduction of an ambitious Circular Economy Bill with robust targets to reduce our overconsumption of resources. It is also important that the conversation about tackling plastic pollution in Scotland addresses Ineos in Grangemouth, the largest producer of plastic in the UK. Ineos continues to import large volumes of fracked gas from the US to Scotland to make plastic which undermines the Scottish Government's current ban on fracking in Scotland. The longer we invest in or support the fossil fuel-based plastic industry which is heavily resource intensive, the longer we lock Scotland into increasing emissions that fuel the escalating climate crisis. I urge the Scottish Government to use the Grangemouth Future Industry Board to map out a Just Transition and strong future for Grangemouth with the phasing out of fossil fuel-based plastic production. | Question 8 |
Contact
Email: supd@gov.scot
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