Litter and flytipping strategy: strategic environment assessment - post adoption statement

6 How the Environmental Report has been taken into account

The Strategy has a lifespan of six years. It will be reviewed at its mid-point and at the end of its lifespan. It will be published with an associated action plan, which will be reviewed annually through the governance and delivery framework which will comprise of a high-level strategy delivery group to drive implementation, agree priorities, review progress and adapt plans. This will be supported by topic-focused delivery working groups and other mechanisms for engaging key stakeholders and sectors to ensure a wide level of input into and scrutiny of future action plans.

Engagement and partnership working with key stakeholders has been central to the development of this Strategy and will be crucial for effective delivery of its outcomes and specific objectives going forward. The overarching ambition of the Strategy is to prevent littering and flytipping behaviour in Scotland.

This will be achieved through the application of a systems approach, to identify where the necessary incentives are not in place to ensure a product is disposed of legally and in a way which maximises the value of that product or the materials within it. This involves looking at the entire lifecycle of products in question and those actors who are involved in influencing individuals at the point of disposal.

The Environmental Report presented the findings of the assessment of the likely significance of the strategy measures to prevent litter and flytipping, structured by the key overarching themes for action: Behaviour Change, Services and Infrastructure, and Enforcement, along with the additional cross-cutting aspect, Data and Research with respect to the six SEA environmental topics and 10 associated assessment criteria. It showed that the proposed measures for preventing both litter and flytipping will generate cumulative positive effects across each of the environmental topics.

No cumulative significant negative effects were identified from the assessment.

In the case of the measures for both littering and flytipping, although positive effects were determined for each of the environmental topics, it was impossible to quantify the exact impact until detailed design of these actions is undertaken. A significant cumulative positive effect was determined for material assets, where there are considered to be benefits in recouping the resource value of materials in litter that would otherwise be lost, as well as avoiding disposal of litter and therefore reducing pressure on landfill capacity.

The assessment of measures to prevent litter and flytipping presented in the Environmental Report has identified the following key measures to enhance the environmental benefits of the prevention measures:

• Improved consistency in data collection between duty bodies should be encouraged and informed through guidance.
• Improving shared access to information on enforcement and prosecutions may assist in deterring repeat offenders.
• Efforts must be made to ensure that reporting into a national database is consistent and comprehensive.
• Improve reporting by local authorities and landowners through the use of technology.
• Consider increasing the prominence of enforcement in nudging behavioural change.
• Provide reminders on the availability of waste recycling facilities and collections.

It is anticipated that the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy will assist in preventing the presence of litter and flytipped material, thus helping to break the link between the adverse effects of these wastes on each of the environmental topics. Where incidents of litter and flytipping do occur the proposals are also expected to limit the duration that uncontrolled waste is present in the environment and improve the onward management of these materials.

Proposed mitigation measures of relevance to each of the overarching action themes identified in the Environmental Report are summarised in the table below.

Environmental effect

• Proposed mitigation effort

Impacts on biodiversity, flora and fauna

• Carry out research to clarify the link between litter and flytipping and adverse effects on land-based biodiversity and ecosystems, using case studies.
• Use of alternative forms of surveillance (e.g. drones).
• Ensure that services and infrastructure are optimised for particularly sensitive habitats

Impacts on human health

• Carry out research to improve the understanding of the effects of litter and flytipping on the physical health risks from exposure to materials in litter and flytipping, along with the mental health and well-being associated with blight from these wastes.

• Public health bodies should be included in data sharing agreements in order to study impacts from litter and flytipping on human health.

Impacts on water quality

• Information on water testing quality and use of GIS mapping of litter and flytipping hotspots may be used to improve the understanding of the relationship between levels of litter and flytipping and effects on the water environment.
• Storm water drainage systems are becoming critical systems for managing water in urban areas and safeguarding water quality, so this infrastructure should be included in the consideration of proposals relating to infrastructure and services.
• Collaboration between duty bodies and other stakeholders including those involved in developing and delivering the new Marine Litter Strategy would support consistency to approaches and improved monitoring of the effects of litter and flytipping.

Climatic factors

• The development of best practice guidelines and sharing of resources to limit or avoid carbon emissions associated with services and infrastructure.
• Infrastructure used for the management of litter and flytipped material should prioritise low carbon design, including first and foremost a 're-use not replace' approach.
• Review and promote the options for recycling of commonly flytipped materials to avoid emissions associated with landfill or incineration.
• More frequent studies into littering and flytipping arisings to improve accuracy of climatic factor monitoring.
• Improvements in technology to measure carbon and other climatic indicators to improve data collection and monitoring quality.

Material assets

• A review and promotion of the options for recycling of commonly flytipped materials should be considered, as this would support maintaining the value of resources and reduce the pressure on landfill sites.
• More frequent studies into littering and flytipping arisings would improve accuracy of the resources available in these materials.
• If a robust system for live reporting on flytipping incidents is introduced then 'real time' monitoring could consider capturing key metrics on the quantities and composition of materials, which help in measuring the effectiveness of the strategy proposals.

Landscape and visual impacts

• Campaigns aimed at behavioural change should ensure the inputs from all relevant stakeholders, including those involved in preserving the landscape (e.g. park rangers and street cleaners), and enforcement authorities as they may sometimes be side-lined.
• The method for the collection of information from citizen science should be clearly established and straightforward to encourage participation.
• As with the suggested measure for biodiversity, ensure that services and infrastructure are optimised for particularly sensitive landscapes, e.g. through the provision and design of recycling facilities or enabling a rapid response to clear up of flytipping incidents.

In refining and developing the adopted National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, Scottish Government has, as appropriate, sought to take into account the findings of the Environmental Report by for example, ensuring a broader range of impacts are included and that actions have been revised or supplemented in the action plan to accommodate the above proposed mitigation measures.