Circular economy and waste route map to 2030: consultation

Chapter 2. Our actions to deliver a circular economy

Introduction

This section outlines our actions to date and our priorities to accelerate progress to meet our sustainable resource objectives, deliver a circular economy and reduce emissions through to 2030.

Proposals in this chapter are grouped under four strategic aims:

1: Reduce and reuse

2: Modernise recycling

3: Decarbonise disposal

4: Strengthen the circular economy

For each strategic aim to 2030, we set out our vision and objectives; our approach to measuring progress; summarise where we are today and the actions we have taken so far; the actions to take between now and 2030; and their system-wide impact and dependencies across the Route Map to achieve maximum positive impact for communities and businesses in Scotland.

We ask a series of consultation questions to seek views and feedback on these actions.

Priority actions for delivery

In the first Route Map consultation we set out around 40 proposals for consultation. While most proposals received support in the consultation response, we recognise there is a need to prioritise to provide the certainty that households, businesses, the public and third sectors need to make changes, support and invest in a circular economy.

Throughout this Route Map, we have set out priority actions. These are the actions that we consider are critical to unlocking progress, and which we intend to focus on. They are based on a review of the evidence under each strategic aim across the waste hierarchy, and their potential role to drive progress through collaboration and partnership to 2030. We plan to deliver all priority measures, though this will be dependent on decisions at future budgets, parliamentary timelines and support, and the outcomes of wider consultation, where appropriate.

Each section also sets out the further actions we will seek to take. These actions are designed to complement the priority actions. In some cases they support delivery of the priority actions (e.g. underpinning research, data, legislation), while in other cases they will build on the priority actions through to 2030. This is reflected in the target delivery timelines.

A whole system approach: the bigger picture

The way that material flows around the economy is complicated and influenced by everyone in the supply chain. To deliver system-wide transformation, we cannot work in silos. All of our actions must be coordinated, properly sequenced, and designed to deliver cumulative impact and wider benefits to Scotland. Throughout this chapter we highlight how our priority actions are being designed and implemented to maximise impact, both on their own terms, and in coordination with the other measures across this Route Map, and with wider initiatives. This allows priority measures to take a targeted, coordinated approach to specific materials across the waste hierarchy, recognising the variation in emissions or environmental impact of production, consumption or waste management of different materials and products.

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1: Reduce and reuse

Summary of proposed priority actions:

• Develop and publish a Product Stewardship Plan to tackle the environmental impact of priority products (by 2025/26)
• Deliver an intervention plan to guide long-term work on household food waste reduction behaviour change (by 2025)
• Develop with stakeholders the most effective way to implement mandatory reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses (by 2025/26)
• Support the development of regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets (from 2025/26)

Vision statement

Reducing and reusing waste are at the top of the waste hierarchy and central to changing our relationship with materials and products. Building an economic system that moves away from being based on items that are designed to be disposable will bring significant environmental benefits.

Strategic objectives

This strategic aim has three key objectives, which formed packages in our 2022 Route Map consultation^[59]:

• Challenging the current approach to consumption and production by mainstreaming reuse and repair, and incentivising and promoting sustainable choices. This means prioritising reuse, making repair easier, and working with businesses and the UK Government to drive better product design and ensure producers take responsibility for the environmental impact of what they sell.
• Focus on reducing food waste from all sources, building on our 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan. This means addressing the whole food system; resetting our approach to food waste; enhancing our circular bioeconomy; and ensuring we have the data needed to understand and drive progress. We recognise that progress has not been at the scale and speed required, partly as a consequence of Covid-19, and a collective reset of our approach to tackling food waste in Scotland is required.
• Focus on embedding circular construction practices to reduce resource needs, reduce waste and carbon, and encourage refurbishment and reuse. This means improving collaboration between Government and industry; incentivising sustainable construction practices; reducing whole life carbon emissions; adopting sustainable/circular procurement practices promoting best practice; and improving our understanding of how and where waste is generated.

Measuring progress

Scotland’s previous targets focused on tracking reduction of overall waste generated (to reduce waste generated by 15% between 2011 and 2025) and reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill (send a maximum 5% of all waste to landfill by 2025). Official waste statistics published annually by SEPA provide the data to assess progress against these metrics.^[60]

Based on the most recent data (2021), we have met our overall waste reduction target (see Chapter 1). However, the total amount of waste we generate in Scotland varies greatly from year on year, largely due to differences in waste from construction and demolition. The carbon footprint of Scotland's waste has also reduced, and fell by over a third between 2011 and 2018.^[61] However, as we set out in this Route Map, the 5% to landfill target does not account for the carbon intensity of waste being diverted to landfill, and is not a good indicator to measure the sector’s progress to net zero.

Our previous targets included a target to reduce food waste by 33% from 2013 to 2025, and Scotland is committed to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030.^[62] We have published a new Scottish food waste estimate^[63], showing how much food waste was disposed of by households and businesses across different sectors in 2021. This provides a comparison with our 2013 baseline, noting that the 2021 estimate may be impacted by the ongoing implications of the Covid pandemic. The latest data shows the scale of the problem has increased in Scotland over the past decade, and it is highly likely we will fall short in meeting our 2025 target. Part of the challenge is consistent and regular measuring of food waste, rather than estimation: without understanding the volume and source of waste, it is difficult to know where to focus action and resources to make real impact.

From 2025, we will set new circular economy targets to at least 2030. New targets may include consumption, reducing waste, reuse and recycling locally and nationally, and consider both material-specific and emission-based targets. In addition, a monitoring and indicator framework will be developed over 2024/25. This will allow more holistic tracking of Scotland’s consumption levels and wider measures of circularity. See the ‘Strengthen the circular economy' section for more.

Taking action

The next section sets out where we are now, what we have done so far, and our actions to accelerate progress to meet our sustainable resource objectives and reduce emissions through to 2030. We set out what actions we will prioritise to unlock progress, their system-wide impacts and strategic dependencies with other measures in this Route Map; and the follow-up actions we will seek to take to complement the priority measures to 2030. Measures are grouped under our three ‘Reduce and reuse’ objectives:

• Section 1: Drive responsible consumption, production and re-use
• Section 2: Reduce food waste
• Section 3: Embed circular construction practices

SECTION 1: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION, PRODUCTION AND RE-USE

Proposed priority action:

• Develop and publish a Product Stewardship Plan to identify and tackle the environmental impact of priority products (by 2025-26)

Further actions:

The Product Stewardship plan will provide a framework for how we prioritise specific products for action, and identify and target actions to tackle their environmental impact over the next decade. To complement and build on this targeted approach, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Deliver a prioritised approach to the introduction of environmental charges for problematic products (by 2025/26)
• Introduce a charge for single-use disposable cups (by 2025)
• Consult on actions regarding the environmental impacts of single-use vapes (ongoing)
• Review the feasibility of setting reuse targets (from 2025)
• Develop restrictions on the destruction of unsold consumer goods (from 2024)
• Develop measures to improve the reuse experience for consumers (ongoing)
• Deliver behaviour change-based approaches focused on sustainable consumption, aligned to Let’s Do Net Zero communications (ongoing)
• Identify ways to expand business models that prolong product lifespan (ongoing)

Where are we now

In Scotland, we use on average 19.3 tonnes of resources per person per year^[64] - well above the 6-8 tonnes per person considered to be sustainable.^[65] Cutting our material consumption is one of the most important ways that we can all limit our impact on the environment, and is essential for Scotland’s just transition to a low-carbon and green economy, and to alleviate pressures on the natural world and its finite resources globally.

Around 90% of the carbon impact of Scotland's waste is produced before disposal, during resource extraction, manufacturing, and transport.^[66] The way that products are designed and manufactured shapes how long they will last, whether they can be reused or repaired, and how easily they can be recycled. This means we need to consider the whole system, reducing our need for new products, and maximising the life of existing ones.

In 2021, the total amount of waste generated was 9.8 million tonnes, the lowest figure on record, and nearly a 20% reduction compared with 2011.^[67] While this is encouraging, the impacts of COVID-19 and the high variability in construction and demolition waste directly influence this target, and we know we must embed system-wide change in order to maintain progress.

What we have done so far

We have taken steps to reduce waste and embed more sustainable approaches across sectors. This includes:

• introducing a ban on certain single-use plastic items
• funding re-use projects and infrastructure through the Recycling Improvement Fund^[68]
• supporting businesses through Zero Waste Scotland^[69]
• supporting sharing libraries and repair cafes^[70], increasing the total to 100 by 2025, and
• introducing requirements through the National Planning Framework 4 to encourage developers to minimise waste and carbon intensity in construction projects.

Public sector organisations, with significant purchasing power, are embedding circular approaches to how they operate and procure goods and services. For example, the Scottish Government has established a NHS Scotland Circular Economy Programme to support the transition to more circular supply systems within NHS Scotland.^[71]

Building on these initiatives, we have also included several key provisions in our Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill to drive sustainable consumption and production^[72]. These include powers to introduce a charge for single-use items^[73], and introduce restrictions on the disposal of unsold consumer goods. The Bill will, if passed, deliver new powers that will set a framework for taking further action into the future.

Delivering our vision

As we set out last year, despite these steps, it is clear that further action is needed to drive system-wide change, moving away from the linear model of consumption, to a circular economy with sustainable resource use. This section sets out our priority actions to support this, and the further actions that government or others need to take to make progress to 2030.

Priority action : Develop and publish a Product Stewardship Plan to identify and tackle the environmental impact of priority products.

Timescale: Publication in 2025/26, supported by research and development in 2023-2025.

2022 consultation recap

85% of respondents to the first consultation^[74] agreed with the measures proposed in to promote responsible consumption, production and re-use. An approach to product stewardship was broadly welcomed by respondents and from a variety of sectors, and provided early input on the principles for any product stewardship approach.

What is product stewardship?

Product stewardship is an approach that means whoever designs, produces, sells or uses a product takes responsibility for minimising its environmental impact throughout all stages of that product’s life cycle. It is an umbrella term, and includes the responsibilities of each actor in the supply chain to minimise waste, maximise reuse, recycle where products genuinely meet the end of their life, and dispose of products responsibly. In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle’^[75], those who cause pollution should bear the financial responsibility for any damage or remedial action required as a result. Producers must take responsibility to reduce the environmental and carbon footprint of their products. However, product stewardship also recognises that everyone involved with the product has a role to play: for example, those involved in the design, supply chain and transport of a product; retailers, consumers, and waste management actors. There is no one-size-fits all approach, and roles and specific actions will vary from one product to another.

Our response: What we will do

Up to now product stewardship policies in Scotland have largely focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes (see ‘Modernise Recycling’ chapter). Producer responsibility schemes are currently in place UK-wide for packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), batteries, and end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). We are working with the UK and devolved governments on reforms to these schemes which will help drive circular economy outcomes. The first will be EPR for packaging, which is being implemented from 2025 on a four nations basis across the UK. We also remain committed to the delivery of a successful Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single use drinks containers, with the UK Government committed to launch a UK-wide DRS by October 2025.

We wish to build on these existing policies and consider a wider range of policy tools to drive progress in reuse, repair and refurbishment; reducing the need for new products to be placed onto the market. Based on the consultation response, and the clear need for a strategic approach, we believe this area should be a priority moving forward.

We will develop and publish a Product Stewardship plan by 2025/26. This will include at least three priority products for which a range of product stewardship measures will be identified, alongside delivery timelines. For each product, we will consider both the action we can take in Scotland under devolved powers, and our expectations of the UK Government where effective action relies on reserved powers. To support this approach, we are commissioning research this year to ensure a robust evidence-based approach to building a model for product stewardship in Scotland.

In determining priority products, we are considering including mattresses, tyres and textiles. For example, Zero Waste Scotland’s latest Carbon Metric Report^[76] shows textiles make up 4% of household waste by weight in Scotland, but account for nearly a third (32%) of the carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste. We recognise the need for a strategic approach to textiles across the waste hierarchy, from production and consumption, through to recycling, and end of life management. This will account for measures being considered by the EU^[77], and by other governments across the UK.

A range of policy interventions for these priority products will be reviewed, to target issues at different points in the supply chain. Interventions could include measures to influence resource efficiency product standards and design (where this falls within devolved competence); bans or market restrictions; extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes including obligations for businesses to take back items, and meet requirements related to the re-use, recovery or recycling of products or materials by means of the broad powers in the Environment Act 2021; financial incentives such as refundable deposits or charges; resource efficiency communications and consumer information and guidance; and linking up effective waste management systems for end of life products. The review will involve:

• Setting the social, economic and environmental objectives for product stewardship measures;
• An assessment of policy options available within devolved competence;
• Consideration of the barriers to effective implementation, whether legislative, constitutional, economic or operational;
• Ensuring we engage constructively with the other governments in the UK, respecting agreed intergovernmental ways of working and processes;
• Alignment with EU policy where appropriate, including the Sustainable Products Initiative, which aims to make products more durable, repairable, recyclable and energy-efficient.

We will focus on policies and activities which have the greatest environmental and economic impact while continuing to encourage best practice by all businesses and consumers, with the aim to produce, consume and manage resources as effectively as possible.

It will set out a clear, cohesive approach to tackling the environmental and social impacts of products placed on the Scottish market, making the most of opportunities within the competence of the Scottish Parliament to reduce the environmental impacts of products and goods, and being clear where this requires further action from the UK Government. In doing so, it will consider ways to:

• Increase opportunities for consumers to donate and procure from reuse organisations;
• Build sufficient skills to repair products received by reuse organisations;
• Ensure effective waste management systems which optimise recyclability when products have reached the end of their life, linking into our priority actions to modernise recycling and decarbonise disposal in this document;
• Seek progress from, and work with, the UK Government and other devolved governments on key areas with reserved elements: for example, to encourage improved product design for durability, repairability and recyclability across the UK, and to seek improved consumer information available across the UK on repair and resource efficiency standards.

While environmental policy, including waste management, is devolved to Scotland, the post-Brexit Internal Market Act 2020 could prevent effective measures from being implemented in Scotland. Should an exclusion from the Act be required for measures within our Product Stewardship approach, we will follow the agreed Common Framework process, and would expect the UK government to do the same.

The bigger picture: Making an impact

• Coordinated and consistent incentives: To drive the right behaviours around how we treat materials, in place across the waste hierarchy.
• The prioritised approach will inform how any future charges on single-use items should be applied, to ensure cohesion across the package of measures taken forward between now and 2030.
• We will ensure a product stewardship approach aligns with our other measures across this Route Map in targeting specific products or materials. For example, the recycling co-design, including a new statutory Code of Practice for recycling services, should be coordinated with product stewardship, to enable a consistent approach to specific materials.

Further actions to 2030

To complement our Product Stewardship plan, we will seek to progress the following actions. We recognise that some actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

1. We will develop a prioritised approach to the introduction of environmental charges to tackle consumption of problematic products and promote a move to more sustainable alternatives by 2025-26.

Through the Circular Economy Bill, we are seeking to take powers to introduce environmental charges, and, if the Bill is passed, we intend to use these new powers to introduce a charge for single-use disposable cups by 2025. A charge or ban on unnecessary products provides a strong incentive to choose reusable alternatives, or to avoid certain products altogether. The introduction of the single-use carrier bag charge in 2014 reduced plastic bag use by 80% in the first year alone^[78]. Extending this approach to other products offers an opportunity to further drive sustainable consumption practices, linked to the development of a prioritised approach to product stewardship. Charges would also raise awareness of the environmental impacts of the products we use, helping to reshape our relationship with resources and move to more sustainable models of consumption.

In response to concern over the environmental impacts of single-use vapes, the Scottish Government commissioned research by Zero Waste Scotland on the evidence of impacts and potential policy options to tackle the issue.^[79] Through the 2023-24 Programme for Government^[80], the Scottish Government was the first UK nation to commit to tackling the environmental impact of single-use vapes, including consulting on a proposal to ban their sale and other appropriate measures. Consultation on placing restrictions on the supply and sale or prohibition of single-use vapes is now being taken forward on a four-nations basis as part of a wider consultation on creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.^[81] Alongside a ban on the sale of single-use vapes, the consultation considers if any other measures are required to ensure the policy is effective in improving environmental outcomes.

2. Review the feasibility of setting reuse targets from 2025.

We will review the feasibility and impact of setting reuse targets in Scotland from 2025 to encourage measures that extend product lifespan, mainstream opportunities for reuse, and support progress towards metrics that monitor consumption. As with wider circular economy targets, before developing a reuse target, we would need to have a robust mechanism in place to monitor reuse. An initial baseline of reuse levels would be necessary to set any target, and this would consider the scope and nature of reuse, performance measures such as carbon savings or product-specific targets, and the data requirements to assess performance. See more on targets in the ‘Strengthen the circular economy’ section.

3. Develop from 2024 restrictions on the destruction of unsold consumer goods.

The Circular Economy Bill includes a new power to introduce restrictions on the destruction of specific unsold goods^[82]. If the Bill is passed, regulations we develop to implement the power will be built on further research and co-design with stakeholders and businesses. A proportionate approach will be taken, focusing on businesses and products that have the most significant environmental impact in Scotland and taking into account the availability of reuse and recycling as alternatives to destruction. French legislation has identified clothing, cosmetics, hygiene products and electrical items as priorities for restrictions and we anticipate it is likely that we will identify similar items in Scotland. We will commission research in 2024 into these and other potential products, to inform consultation on regulations in 2026.

4. Develop measures to improve the reuse experience for consumers (ongoing).

We will build on the considerable progress that has been made in accessibility, acceptability, and perception of used items by identifying a package of support measures to optimise the reuse experience for consumers, building on the Revolve initiative^[83]. We will work with partners to learn from and accelerate progress, by identifying additional support measures such as funding routes, collaboration, and integration with other policy initiatives. We will support the creation of reuse hubs to normalise reuse and integrate online reuse, skills and training, and collaboration with the wide range of existing public and private repair and reuse offerings. We will facilitate sharing of best practice examples on reuse, such as North Ayrshire Council’s Real Nappy Incentive Scheme^[84], to support take up in other areas. We have also commissioned research to understand barriers to uptake of reusable nappies.

5. Deliver behaviour change-based approaches focused on sustainable consumption, aligned to Let’s Do Net Zero communications (ongoing).

Around 80% of our carbon footprint in Scotland comes from consumption: from all the goods, materials and services which we produce, use and in the case of products, often throw out after just one use.^[85] However, recent research produced by Consumer Scotland, which considered a number of consumer markets (household goods, transportation, parcel deliveries, food and drink, and recreation/holidays), found that many of the sustainable behaviours and choices being presented to consumers can appear as optional or are perceived as only having a limited impact on the environment or tackling climate change.^[86] The research found that a lack of reliable trustworthy information is making it difficult for many consumers to fully understand the issues be able to make informed choices. Strategic research projects currently underway by Zero Waste Scotland will generate additional evidence and insights to help us understand what impacts consumer behaviours and choice. We will build on this and other sources, to develop and implement behaviour change and engagement approaches. This will align with Scotland’s Let’s Do Net Zero^[87] communications campaign, to raise consumer and business awareness of the impacts of consumption and alternatives to buying new, or at all. In developing these approaches, we will engage with a range of stakeholders, in the public, private and third sectors.

6. Identify ways to expand business models that prolong product lifespan (ongoing).

We will continue to encourage, incentivise, develop and where necessary provide support for businesses and business models that increase the availability of long-lasting products on the market by incentivising upgradeability, repair and circular business models. Examples could include leasing, subscription models or sharing libraries. We will coordinate findings across this work and the proposed steps we are seeking to take to investigate promotion of business-business reuse platforms in the Modernise Recycling section of the Route Map.

SECTION 2: REDUCE FOOD WASTE

Proposed priority actions:

• Deliver an intervention plan to guide long-term work on household food waste reduction behaviour change (by 2025)
• Develop with stakeholders the most effective way to implement mandatory reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses (by 2025/26)

Further actions:

To complement and build on these priorities, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Strengthen data and evidence (ongoing)
• Review the rural exemption for food waste recycling, as part of recycling codesign process (In 2024/25 and 2025/26)
• Investigate feasibility of action plans (After 2025)
• Deliver enhanced support for businesses (ongoing)

Where are we now

As we set out in the first Route Map consultation^[88], tackling food waste is one of the most important ways we can reduce the carbon impact of Scotland's waste. If food waste is sent to landfill, it releases methane - a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide. Some of these emissions can be avoided by recycling food waste but we know that cutting down on wasted food, particularly the waste of edible food, reduces the 'upstream' emissions, and costs, associated with growing, harvesting, processing, transporting and buying food to begin with. UK research has suggested that achieving a 58% per capita reduction in food waste by 2050, would contribute up to 9.1 MtCO2e, and reduce cumulative emissions by 143 MtCO2e by 2050.^[89]

The importance of tackling food waste as part of wider efforts to reduce emissions was reinforced in the Climate Change Committee’s ‘2023 Progress Report to the UK Parliament’ which recommended food waste reduction policy be integrated into the Net Zero delivery strategy for the agriculture and land use, and waste sectors^[90]. Acting on food waste to reduce emissions can also help Scotland become a Good Food Nation. The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 provides an overarching framework for clear, consistent and coherent future Scottish food policy and ensures that any new food related policy will be considered in the context of the national Good Food Nation Plan. A consultation on Scotland’s first Good Food Nation Plan will be published shortly and this will set out the main outcomes to be achieved in relation to food-related issues, the policies needed to do this and the measures we will use to assess progress.

Scottish Government has committed to embed food loss and waste consideration across relevant policies and strategies, including the Good Food Nation Plan; the Local Food Strategy; and the Agricultural Reform Programme, as well as through the review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, and this Route Map in order to help meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030 ^[91].

Reducing food waste remains a significant, and growing, challenge. We recognise that actions to reduce food waste in Scotland have not yielded results, partly as a consequence of changed consumer behaviour since Covid-19. The latest Scottish food waste data estimate for 2021 suggests that over 1 million tonnes of food was wasted in Scotland during 2021, accounting for around 6% of Scotland's total carbon footprint that year.^[92] It also suggests that the scale of the problem has increased in Scotland over the past decade. In comparison to the 2013 baseline, in 2021 - despite a 1% per capita decrease in food waste at the household level - there was a total 2% per capita increase and an overall 5% increase in the volume of food wasted.

Scotland is not alone in facing this challenge. Globally, no country has successfully demonstrated how to reduce food waste at a sufficient scale; and a comparable increase in food waste has been seen across the UK in the same period between 2018 and 2021.^[93]

While there will always be unavoidable inedible food waste such as eggshells, coffee grounds and apple cores, which is difficult to address, achieving an overall reduction in food waste will significantly contribute to our objectives toreduce waste, reduce the carbon impact of waste, and help us achieve our commitment to net zero by 2045.

What we have done so far

Within this wider context, we have continued to deliver on our 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan^[94]. The Review of progress in delivering this Plan, published alongside this document^[95] highlights a range of achievements, including communication campaigns to raise awareness of food waste; funding FareShare's 'Surplus with Purpose' scheme; and the Food Waste Reduction Business Support Service^[96], run by Zero Waste Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s £70m Recycling Improvement Fund (RIF) is helping to tackle food waste by enhancing food waste recycling collections. Since 2021, a range of local authority projects have been funded to deliver this improvement, including projects in: Edinburgh; Midlothian; Clackmannanshire; Western Isles; Perth & Kinross; Glasgow; and Highland. As of November 2023, a total of £1.7 million in funding has been awarded to these local authorities to improve access and infrastructure for food waste recycling to help ensure food that is not used is recycled and its environmental impact is reduced.

We have also renewed our relationship with, and continue to part-fund, the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Courtauld Commitment 2030, which is engaging in collaborative action across the entire UK food chain to deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water stress to help the UK meet UN SDG 12.3 to halve per capita food waste by 2030.

Our ongoing commitment to WRAP is helping to support the delivery of their Food Waste Reduction Roadmap within Scotland and across the UK. WRAP’s latest progress report indicates that businesses that voluntarily signed up to the Roadmap commitments are making improvements across the supply chain, manufacturing and retail services. However, it also highlights that further action and improved decision-making with regards to the purchase, storage and use of food in households is needed to reduce overall food waste^[97].

However, as noted in the Review of our 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan^[98], pre-existing food waste reduction actions – although limited by the Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis – have not delivered results at the scale and speed required.

Delivering our vision

It is our view that sticking to the same path will not yield the results we need to see. A collective reset of our approach to tackling food waste in Scotland is required, as part of wider, cross-government food policy.

Our Review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan reinforced the need to redefine our approach to reducing food waste across all sectors and households in Scotland for both, the short and long term, to deliver the desired results.

The actions we set out here are based on the evidence we have so far on how best we can reset our approach and accelerate Scotland’s goal to reduce food waste. We know improving how we measure food waste, and identifying where and why it occurs across businesses and households, is a critical step: better understanding of the volume and make-up of waste, will allow for more effective action and allow for resources to be targeted to make real impact. Available evidence also underlines the importance of focussing action on household behaviour change, testing different interventions to determine what actions deliver food waste reduction.

To complement the findings in the Review, we are keen to hear views from the widest possible range of individuals, organisations and businesses on these proposed priorities, and what other steps government and others can take to drive meaningful change. Through consultations on the draft Route Map and Good Food Nation Plan, we will be looking to engage widely on this issue, including with the other UK governments, on opportunities for coordinated action. We recognise that this is a shared challenge across the UK and globally, and while we intend to do all we can within the competence of the Scottish Parliament to tackle food waste, progress will also rely on action by others, including at a UK-level.

Priority action : We will deliver an intervention plan to guide long-term work on household food waste reduction behaviour change.

Timescale: By 2025.

2022 consultation recap

The proposal was welcomed particularly strongly by respondents^[99], with many individuals and organisations from different sectors highlighting the critical importance of public education and changing household behaviours that result in food waste. Feedback highlighted the need for a long term programme of interventions that result in sustained behaviour change rather than focusing on short term results.

Our response: What we will do

2021 data suggests householders contribute around 60% of Scotland’s food waste, that is a per capita estimate of 111kg per person per year and the equivalent of 2.2 million tonnes of CO2eq.^[100] We believe there is great potential through behaviour change interventions to deliver a significant impact on household food waste. We also know that available evidence to support household food waste reduction behaviour change is limited.

To tackle this, the Scottish Government and its partners aim to gather evidence about and review interventions that will reduce household food waste. This will enable us to develop and deliver a behaviour intervention plan by 2025, focusing on a test of change and improvement approach. This action will help address gaps in food waste reduction behaviour change knowledge and inspire action at various decision-making stages, including when and how to purchase and store food. It will address the comments by respondents to the first consultation which emphasised the importance of changing household behaviours to deliver food waste reduction results, and the need for an evidence-based direction.

While there is a lack of international case-studies demonstrating food waste reduction at a sustained level, the intervention plan will draw together insightful research into household behaviours across Scotland. It will test behaviour interventions at a range of decision-making stages to identify what can be done to generate the greatest impacts at a household-level.

As part of this, we will work with Zero Waste Scotland, householders and Local Authorities to better understand household behaviours, linking into the wider recycling co-design process (See the ‘Modernise Recycling’ section) to deliver more consistent recycling services and maximise the amount of waste – including food - being diverted away from disposal to residual waste.

Developing a plan of suitable interventions will provide the foundation to guide long-term work on household behaviour change and provide the best available evidence for local and national governments to reduce household food waste at the scale and speed required.

Priority action : We will develop with stakeholders the most effective way to implement mandatory public reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses.

Timescale: Develop by 2025/26.

2022 consultation recap

There was broad consensus (85% agreed) in the first consultation^[101] response that reducing food waste should be seen as a priority, and, if delivered effectively, the proposals described would contribute to a reduction of food waste in Scotland.

Our response: What we will do

Business and non-business organisations contributed 427,505 tonnes, or 41%, of total food wasted in Scotland in 2021. This is equivalent to nearly 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂eq.

In line with new powers included in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill as introduced^[102], the Scottish Government believes a key way to encourage changes in practices is to enable more effective monitoring and management of waste, by placing duties on businesses to report publicly on waste and surplus. The Scottish Government is aware that a number of companies already report on food surplus and redistribution, and the destination for waste stock (e.g. through WRAP’s UK-wide Courtauld Commitment^[103]). However, this voluntary approach is unlikely to lead to action at the required scale to help reduce food waste in Scotland and it does not provide a clear indicator on the volume of food waste produced by businesses. We recognise that many food businesses work across the UK, and we will continue to work with WRAP UK to ensure we are engaging at a Scottish and UK level to maximise potential impact.

Food waste will be one of the first areas to take forward mandatory public reporting in Scotland. The Scottish Government aims to develop with stakeholders how public mandatory reporting of food waste and surplus by businesses can be fairly and effectively implemented, utilising powers from the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, subject to the Bill completing its Parliamentary passage.

We recognise that the design and implementation of any new requirements should be carefully considered with stakeholders, including the business community, in line with the principles of the New Deal for Business^[104]. Around 60 businesses that operate in Scotland already report food waste and surplus on a voluntary basis (at a UK-wide level), and a range of large businesses from retailers to manufacturers, including Tesco and Hovis, are signed up to WRAP’s Courtauld 2030 voluntary commitment to take action to reduce food waste.^[105] Unilever and Ikea also report publicly on food waste. We want to work with businesses to learn from their experiences with reporting so we can build on what has been proven to work, and understand what good practice looks like as the basis for developing reporting standards.

Delivering this priority measure will enable Scottish Government to effectively work with businesses to implement mandatory public reporting in a way that underpins the importance of tackling food waste, supports compliance, and creates opportunities to find innovative ways to utilise waste and surplus. The Scottish Government will engage with stakeholders to develop the most effective way to implement mandatory public reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses by 2025/26.

This collaborative approach will enable Scottish Government to engage with stakeholders, including business representatives and SEPA, to explore concerns raised in the first consultation about the potential challenges to smaller organisations for implementing mandatory reporting. It will also provide an opportunity to strategically link to other policy developments that are in train or planned, including the proposed new Circular Economy monitoring framework and Digital Waste Tracking; and help define an appropriate and robust indicator of food waste across businesses.

Further consultation and engagement with business will be undertaken as part of the development of secondary legislation, informed by best practice from existing voluntary reporting.

Mandatory public reporting for other materials

We believe mandatory public reporting has the potential to play an important positive role in achieving better use and reuse of our resources, increasing transparency and highlighting opportunities where perceived waste can be used as a resource. While we intend to explore mandatory public reporting of food waste as the priority, feedback to the consultation on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill also highlighted other potential waste streams that could be included.^[106] Following our focus on food waste, we intend to review the role mandatory public reporting could play in driving sustainable resource use across other material streams, such as clothing and textiles or construction waste. We will explore this with stakeholders, particularly business, giving due consideration to the evidence on environmental and climate impact of specific materials, existing measures in place, and alignment with the priorities set out in this Route Map.

The bigger picture: Making an impact

• We know that urgent, system-wide change is required across the strategic aims in this Route Map. Findings from the food waste behaviour change action will inform the delivery of our priority actions across this Route Map, including measures embedding positive behaviour change to deliver wider sustainable consumption, and maximise the use of recycling services through the household and commercial recycling co-designs.
• The development of mandatory reporting will also have wider strategic importance and lessons to learn, as we work with businesses to support them in reducing overall waste.
• Findings from the review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan have informed our priority actions, and underline the importance of delivering these actions as part of a wider reset in our approach in tackling food waste. Collectively they will strengthen data and evidence to inform targeted long-term action to reduce food waste in the years to 2030 and beyond.

Further actions to 2030

To complement and build upon delivery of the priority actions above, we will seek to progress the measures outlined below to drive food waste reduction. We recognise that some actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

1. Strengthen data and evidence (ongoing).

In partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, we will continue driving research into food waste reduction action and behaviour change. This will build on findings from the latest information about food waste in Scotland, including the review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan and the 2021 Food Waste Estimate. It will expand upon current research by Zero Waste Scotland on the food redistribution landscape, capacity and challenges in Scotland, as well as research into data and insights in the home, and evaluation of the household intervention plan as outlined in the priority measures. Strengthening data and evidence will significantly help to address the challenges and opportunities for food waste reduction across Scotland, and specifically within households.

2. Review the rural exemption for food waste recycling, as part of recycling co-design process in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

As outlined in the review of the 2019 Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, the 2019 commitment to consult on this exemption did not take place due to external pressures, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government remains committed to reviewing the rural exemption for food waste collections. This will be considered through the household recycling co-design process (see Modernise Recycling section) and inform the development of a future statutory recycling Code of Practice.

3. Investigate feasibility of voluntary food waste reduction action plans (After 2025).

In partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, we will investigate the feasibility and opportunities for voluntary action plans to help support businesses and organisations take action to reduce food waste. This would be in addition to any regulations made under new powers in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill regarding businesses publicly reporting on waste and surplus. This will complement any reporting on waste and surplus. As well as identifying the volume of food waste and surplus generated by individual organisations, working to develop voluntary action plans will help businesses address food waste created in their operations. We will engage with public and private organisations to investigate feasibility, and if appropriate, to help develop and apply these voluntary action plans. This work creates opportunities to build and share knowledge on when and how to reduce food waste within organisations for sustained, long-term impact. It also supports our work to make Scotland a Good Food Nation by working with businesses across the food-related sector.

4. Deliver enhanced support for businesses (ongoing).

In partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, we propose to review existing support for businesses and investigate different forms of support to implement food waste reduction activities. This could include updating education and training tools, as well as building on the Love Food Hate Waste workplace training, sector-specific best practice guides, and public procurement guidance. To enhance and provide the optimal level of support, we would look to explore incentives for research, development, commercialisation and the adoption of bioprocessing techniques and bioeconomy opportunities in Scotland.

SECTION 3: EMBED CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

Proposed priority action:

• Support the development of regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets (From 2025)

Further actions:

To complement and build on this priority, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Develop new and promote existing best practice standards in circular practices within the construction sector, and assess the options for both voluntary and mandatory compliance (ongoing)
• Investigate and promote options to incentivise and build capacity for the refurbishment of buildings (by 2026/27)
• Investigate and promote ways to reduce soil and stones disturbance, movement and volumes going to landfill (by 2026/27)
• Review opportunities to accelerate adoption of climate change and circular economy focussed purchasing in construction (from 2024)
• Consider how devolved taxes can incentivise the use of recycled aggregates and support circular economy practices (ongoing)

Where are we now

Construction and demolition accounts for up to half of all waste produced in Scotland^[107]. This waste is largely soil excavations from housing and infrastructure projects as well as bricks, tiles and concrete from demolition. Scotland has met the European Union target of 70% recycling and reuse of construction and demolition waste by 2020 every year since 2011. The latest data indicates a recycling rate of 89.4% in 2021^[108]. However, there is a need to focus further up the waste hierarchy, reducing waste and reusing resources.

In 2021, the construction and demolition sector generated 4.0 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste, down from 5.8 million tonnes in 2018.^[109] Waste varies greatly year to year due to differences in construction and wider economic activity. This variation is currently the main factor determining whether we achieve our 15% waste reduction target in any given year. Despite meeting this target in the most recent data (2021)^[110], we face significant challenges in consistently meeting it without accelerating action to reduce waste from construction and demolition. This section focuses on how we address this challenge through to 2030.

What have we done so far

Actions to drive circular economy practices in the sector include introducing requirements through the National Planning Framework 4^[111] to encourage developers to minimise waste and carbon intensity in construction projects; promoting The Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard^[112], which is a voluntary standard to support public bodies to meet their net zero commitments, publishing new Sustainability in Construction guidance^[113]; the establishment of the Construction Accord^[114] and supporting the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (now BE-ST)^[115].

New research from Zero Waste Scotland and Green Built Environment sets out evidence on the feasibility and potential for increased material and asset reuse in the construction and demolition sector, based on workshops with representatives associated with the Scottish construction sector.^[116]

Delivering our vision

Priority action : Support the development of regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets.

Timescale: Scoping work commenced in 2023; ongoing feasibility research and engagement in 2024/25; development of regional hubs from 2025.

2022 consultation recap

In the first consultation^[117], 79% of respondents to the first Route Map consultation agreed or strongly agreed with the proposals in this package, and there was a high level of support from the construction sector (82%). The majority agreed with the principle for facilitating the reuse of construction materials and assets, and highlighted the benefits of this approach, alongside questions on feasibility and practical challenges.

Our response: What we will do

It is our view that a programme for reuse of construction materials would provide a much-needed coordinated approach to expanding reuse opportunities across the sector. This intervention provides the greatest opportunity and impact to directly support the sector to drive waste reduction and reuse, help build market confidence and provide lower carbon options for use on construction projects.

We know that there are a wide range of materials used in construction and arising from demolition that are not currently reused, with estimates suggesting only 5-10% of materials are currently being reused^[118]. Achieving greater use of materials which still have function and meet regulatory standards will contribute towards the waste reduction and emission reduction targets, by avoiding the use of unnecessary virgin materials, and maximising the useful life of embedded carbon.

We agree with stakeholder feedback from the first consultation, that a regional approach is most likely to have the best impact. We will prioritise supporting the sector to develop regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets. This is in line with the identification of Circular Economy Materials Management Facilities as a national development in National Planning Framework 4^[119]. This measure will aim to:

• Provide coordinated support for the development of regional platforms to store, stock and source used construction materials. Learn from national and international experience to help understand and address the challenges of supply and demand alignment, the geographic dispersal of materials, and the price drivers that favour new, high carbon materials over used.
• Promote best practice waste prevention and materials efficiency for new construction or refurbishment. Help facilitate the use of tools and processes that support a whole project life digital approach to material management such as BIM, ‘circularity statements’, ‘material/site waste management plans’, Materials Passports, deconstruction audits, and quality standards such as BREEAM.
• Assess policy measures and interventions which would help extend the lifespan of buildings and materials through durability, repairability, retrofit and refurbishment. Identify the barriers and skills gaps that need to be addressed to facilitate a circular economy approach to maintaining our current building stock and infrastructure.
• Align activities with those provided by BE-ST and other stakeholders to promote the role of digital technology and SMART construction tools and processes that increase resource efficiency and provide whole life data on building materials (material passports) that can be used to maintain and extend building lives and provide Material Banks through accurate deconstruction audits for future material reuse.

To drive this forward, early scoping research was commissioned in 2023, alongside a place-based feasibility study for a construction materials reuse hub in Glasgow. Building on this ongoing work, we intend to commission a full feasibility study for regional materials reuse hubs in 2024/25, looking at barriers and actions to support progression.

The Scottish construction sector holds great expertise and there are some innovative projects in this space; we recognise that this measure is more likely to succeed if the sector plays a leading role. The Scottish Government wants to work in partnership with the sector and other stakeholders to develop this measure, and to look at and address the challenges highlighted through the feasibility work and first Route Map consultation responses. As part of this process, we will listen to and carefully consider stakeholder views on what support industry may need to enable them to lead on the creation of platforms, and locally trial, pilot and learn from what works. We will assess the support requirements around skills, processes and technology to make materials ready for reuse, highlighting the opportunities for green skills transfer and new green circular job creation.

The bigger picture: Making an impact

• This intervention provides the greatest opportunity and impact to support the sector to drive waste reduction and reuse, help build market confidence and provide lower carbon options for use on construction projects.
• New incentives for skills, training, green jobs and just transition: through the creation of markets and processes for used materials, deconstruction of buildings for material reuse, sustainable procurement, and training requirements and employment opportunities;
• Emissions reduction and tackling biodiversity loss: Through maximising the life of useful products and materials, reducing mining, extraction practices and the disturbance of soils associated with virgin extraction;
• Supporting economic transformation: by transitioning the construction sector to a more sustainable material footprint, and in providing skills and employment, enabling economic growth at local and national levels.

Further actions to 2030

Below we outline actions we will seek to progress to complement and build upon the priority action above. We recognise that these actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

1. Develop new and promote existing best practice standards and assess the options for both voluntary and mandatory compliance (ongoing).

We propose to review existing practices and work with industry to understand the opportunities and requirements for successful adoption and compliance. We will develop a strategic plan for any new measures or standards taken forward, and take a phased approach to implementation from 2023/24, based on material type, business or project size. Whilst we believe that a significant impact can be achieved on a voluntary basis, we will also explore options for mandatory compliance.

2. Investigate and promote options to incentivise and build capacity for the refurbishment of buildings by 2026/27.

There is a need to move beyond management of waste materials to maximising the lifespan of carbon and material intensive structures. We propose to research the potential barriers and opportunities for increasing the number of buildings that are refurbished. We will also seek to work with relevant stakeholders to better understand how the local application of circular economy planning principles set out in NPF4 (e.g. NPF4 Historic Assets and Places Policy 7, Brownfield, vacant and derelict and empty buildings Policy 9, and Zero Waste Policy 12), can support more refurbishment of existing buildings over new build.

3. Investigate and promote ways to reduce soil and stones disturbance, movement and volumes going to landfill by 2026/27.

The organic matter in topsoil is a valuable carbon sink and a rich biodiversity habitat. The construction of buildings and infrastructure, as well as the drainage of soils to create public open space, can reduce levels of organic matter in soils and release carbon. This intervention will focus on better understanding the opportunities to reduce soil disturbance, and soil movement within and off site. We will investigate how, and identify and promote what technical support is needed, to enable sector behaviour and design change to minimise soil disturbance and removal off site, in alignment with National Planning Framework 4.^[120]

4. Review opportunities to accelerate adoption of climate change and circular economy focussed purchasing in construction from 2024.

The public sector is responsible for over half of all expenditure on construction activities in Scotland^[121]. By examining the potential for sustainable procurement practices to improve material efficiency and reduce waste at all stages in a construction project we will raise the awareness of best practice and the opportunities when procuring the services of designers and other consultants, when tendering and awarding contracts and appointing contractors and subcontractors, and when procuring materials, equipment and services on site, and during building use and at end of life.

5. Consider how devolved taxes can incentivise the use of recycled aggregates and support circular economy practices (ongoing).

We will consider how devolved taxes can be used together to incentivise the use of secondary aggregates and support circular economy practices. The Scottish Government has introduced an Aggregates Tax and Devolved Taxes Administration Bill to Parliament, which sets out the key arrangements for a devolved environmental tax that aims to reduce the extraction of primary (i.e. fresh or new) aggregate^[122]. The planned introduction date of the Scottish Aggregates Tax is 1 April 2026.

Click here to preview an infographic showing the Route Map Strategic Aims in full.

Consultation questions

Question 1: To what extent do you agree with the priority actions proposed within the Reduce and reuse strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 2: To what extent do you agree with the further actions to 2030 listed across the Reduce and reuse strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

2: Modernise recycling

Summary of proposed priority actions:

Household:

• Facilitate a co-design process for high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services (2024/25 and 2025/26)

Commercial:

• Review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements (2025)
• Co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provisions (From 2026/27)

Vision statement

Recycling helps to conserve our natural resources, keep valuable materials flowing through our economy and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. We want Scotland to become a world-leader in recycling, where recycling and reuse services are easy to use and accessible to all, and support and encourage positive choices. By 2030, we want a high-performing recycling system that has modernised recycling services for households and businesses across Scotland, optimised the performance of collection services, and can recycle most waste types to maximise diversion of waste from disposal. Increasing the amount of materials recycled and increasing the proportion of these recycled in Scotland will deliver carbon reductions, reduce the environmental impacts associated with extracting new raw materials, and create a range of important economic opportunities to reprocess and reuse materials here in Scotland.

Strategic objectives

This chapter has two key objectives to advance recycling for both household and commercial waste. These were defined in two separate packages within the 2022 Route Map consultation and have now been prioritised to:

• Modernise household recycling and reuse services, improving and optimising performance. This is about making the right choices the easier choices for households, ensuring appropriate recycling and reuse standards and high performing services across Scotland in order to maximise diversion of recyclable waste from disposal. This means co-designing refreshed service standards that promote high quality reuse and recycling and more consistent approaches across Scotland that reflect best practice and also take account of local context, such as housing or geography; supporting and enabling local authorities to drive local improvements; ensuring timely investment in infrastructure and capacity for reprocessing; embedding decisions about recycling in the design and sale of products; and increasing transparency and generating more public confidence in the recycling process.
• Support businesses in Scotland to reduce waste and maximise recycling, with clear incentives in place to ensure that the most sustainable choices are the easiest choices. This means ensuring the right conditions for high quality and reliable commercial waste management services; and supporting ongoing investment in services, infrastructure and innovation, that minimises wider impacts such as air pollution and waste crime. We want a clear focus on businesses and materials where specific barriers exist to improving recycling, and have high quality, timely commercial waste data to better understand the composition of commercial waste streams, to co-design interventions that maximise prevention, reuse, and recycling.

Measuring progress

Scotland’s previous targets have focused on increasing household and commercial recycling rates, including our target to increase recycling of wastefrom all sources to 70% by 2025. Official waste statistics published annually by SEPA provide the data to assess progress against these metrics.^[123]

Since 2011, Zero Waste Scotland’s annual publication Carbon Metric^[124] has been helping to measure our progress and demonstrating how waste reduction and sustainable waste management can play a critical role in the fight against climate change. Most recent data from 2021 shows the carbon impact of household waste in Scotland was 12.8% below the 2011 baseline.^[125]

As set out in the new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy^[126], developing a Litter and Flytipping Data Strategy is a priority for the delivery partners in its year one action plan. The action plan for 2023-24 also includes actions for SEPA to work to improve the consistency of flytipping data and develop a live picture of flytipping across Scotland to better understand the scale of flytipping across Scotland and develop effective approaches to taking action.

From 2025, we will set new circular economy targets, covering the period to 2030 as a minimum. New targets may include consumption, reducing waste, reuse and recycling locally and nationally, and consider both material-specific and emission-based targets. They will also consider outcomes from the co-design process with local authorities, households and commercial waste operators, and link into a monitoring and indicator framework for the circular economy that incentivises the right behaviours across the system, from waste reduction right through to our approach to residual waste. This framework will be developed over 2024/25. This will allow more holistic tracking of Scotland’s consumption levels and wider measures of circularity. See the ‘Strengthen the circular economy' section.

Where we are now

Recycling is part of everyday life in Scotland. As we set out in the first Route Map consultation^[127], between 2004 and 2011 Scotland’s household recycling rate more than doubled. However, in more recent years progress has slowed. Scotland’s household recycling rate remained at around 45% for several years, and it fell back to 42% in 2020, in part due to the impacts of COVID-19. In 2022, the recycling rate showed some signs of recovery, standing at 43.3%.^[128] Across Scotland, local authority household recycling rates vary significantly. In 2022 they ranged from 20.7% to 57.8%, and the local authorities with lower recycling rates tend to manage the largest national shares of household waste.

SEPAestimates that the commercial and industrial recycling rates are currently 53%, and waste has steadily reduced with a 21.6% decrease between 2011 and 2021.^[129] The changes in commercial waste management are significant and highlight the success of the waste industry in supporting their customers to recycle more and dispose of less.

Most households and businesses in Scotland have access to common recycling services, but it remains often 'easier' to throw things away than recycle or reuse them. For Scottish households, just over half of what we throw away at the kerbside could be recycled through existing systems.^[130]

Currently, the incentives to recycle are weak and there remains confusion about what materials can be recycled. This means that large quantities of recyclable materials are still sent for disposal when they could be recycled.

SEPAdata also shows that just under a fifth of everything put out for recycling by householders is non-recyclable.^[131] This contamination makes managing recycling collections more costly and can mean the whole load has to be taken for incineration or landfill.

Reducing waste and recycling has a key part to play in Scotland’s journey to net zero. Household waste makes up approximately 21% of Scotland's waste by weight, but 55% of the total waste carbon emissions, and the top five most carbon intensive materials accounted for under half (46%) of all household waste in 2021, but 83% of household waste carbon impacts.^[132]

What we have done so far

Modernising recycling

As set out in the first consultation, we have delivered and continue to progress key measures to modernise recycling in Scotland.

Scotland's landmark 2012 Waste (Scotland) Regulations^[133] amended the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to place requirements on Local Authorities to provide a comprehensive recycling service to their householders, and established the minimum recycling service. In partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Scottish Government developed the voluntary Scottish Charter for Household Recycling^[134], which seeks to deliver more consistent recycling collections across Scotland.

In 2021, the £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund^[135] was introduced by the Scottish Government to enable local authorities to improve recycling infrastructure and services across Scotland. As of December 2023, over £60 million has been awarded to 21 local authorities, funding a range of service improvements, with the potential to reduce CO2e emissions by over 55,000 tonnes each year, the equivalent of taking more than 29,000 cars off the road.

In addition, £1.083 billion of funding has been made available through the Strategic Waste Fund between 2008 and 2022 to assist local authorities in the implementation of the Zero Waste Plan, including support for projects to drive local improvements in recycling.^[136]

Building on this platform, we have set out a range of further measures to be delivered in the coming years to improve services, increase the recyclability of products, increase capture at end-of-life and provide greater incentives for domestic reprocessing. This includes extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes for packaging^[137], waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and batteries, with the first scheme for packaging to begin from 2025. Packaging EPR is anticipated to increase recycling rates for packaging materials to 76% by 2030^[138]. It will require better labelling of products for recycling, and producers to cover the full net cost of managing their packaging when it becomes waste. Funding will go to local authorities to fund effective and efficient collection systems for household packaging waste.

In 2022 Scottish Government published Scotland’s revised Marine Litter Strategy^[139] with an action plan that included improving the waste management of end of life fishing and aquaculture gear and collected marine litter. Research has detailed the nature and volume of waste arisings and focus is now on the gaps in waste management infrastructure to be filled in order to avoid landfill or transportation abroad for recycling. Co-design is at the heart of this policy area, developing solutions to a challenging problem, which threatens the health of our environment with plastic pollution, and restricts our circular economy growth.

We remain committed to the delivery of a successful Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to increase recycling rates for single use drinks containers to at least 90%. Scottish DRS Regulations were laid in 2020 and establish the framework for DRS in Scotland, but implementation of those Regulations has been prevented by the UK Government's decision not to grant a full UK Internal Market Act exclusion for the scheme. We are pushing the UK Government to lay their own Regulations and set out how DRS can be delivered across the UK in order to meet their commitment to launch DRS by October 2025.

Moving forward, household recycling measures are a significant feature of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill^[140]. Subject to passage of the Bill through the Scottish Parliament, this includes provision for a new statutory Code of Practice on household waste recycling which will set standards for recycling and reuse services across Scotland, and the power to introduce household waste recycling targets for local authorities from 2030. More on this is covered in the priority actions section below.

Tackling Waste Crime

We are taking forward a range of measures to address waste crime. We remain clear that illegal waste activities have no place in Scotland, undercut legitimate operators, and remove materials from the circular economy.

Working the partners, including the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has utilised a multi-agency approach to disrupt illegal environmental and waste management activities.^[141] SEPA investigates waste enforcement, which includes the monitoring of over 325 active cases including 59 high priority sites (as of November 2023), with some linked to Serious Organised Crime activity.

In June 2023 the Scottish Government published the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy^[142] which sets out how national and local government, business, third sector, communities and individuals can work together to support behaviour change, improve infrastructure and strengthen enforcement, in order to protect our environment, better value our resources as a society and prevent the escape of materials from the economy. The publication of this six-year Strategy is accompanied by a2023-24 Action Plan^[143], detailing specific actions and interventions that will be progressed in the first year of the Strategy.

The Circular Economy Bill proposes to bring forward new powers for SEPA and Local Authorities to search and seize vehicles involved in waste crime. This has been used to good effect by Local Authorities in England.

SEPA and Scottish Government are working together to bring existing environmental permitting regimes into a single integrated authorisation framework. This will include waste carriers who, for example, will be subject to a more rigorous “fit and proper person” test, making it easier to keep criminals out of the waste collection business and enabling SEPA to revoke authorisations where a person or their associate has been convicted of a relevant offence such as fly-tipping. The new framework will also improve SEPA’s enforcement powers and includes powers to issue regulatory notices to address contraventions of the regulations.

SEPA and Scottish Government are working with the other three UK nations to develop Digital Waste Tracking service which will bring a step change in transparency and accountability around the movement of Scottish waste across the UK from start to finish. The improved information this provides will allow SEPA to prioritise action to tackle waste crime and, more generally, target interventions much more effectively.

Delivering our vision

The next section sets out what actions we will prioritise to unlock progress, their system-wide impacts and strategic dependencies with other measures in this Route Map; and the further actions we will seek to take to complement the priority measures to 2030.

Measures are grouped under our two objectives:

• Household: Modernise household recycling and reuse services, improving and optimising performance.
• Commercial: Support businesses in Scotland to reduce waste and maximise recycling.

SECTION 1: MODERNISE HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING

Proposed priority actions:

• Facilitate a co-design process for high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services (2024/25 and 2025/26)

Further actions:

To both complement and build on these priorities, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Develop a statutory code of practice for household waste services (by 2025/26)
• Introduce statutory recycling and reuse local performance targets for household waste services (from 2030)
• Strengthen Householder’s duty of care in relation to waste (by 2025/26)
• Give local authorities more tools to support household recycling and reduce contamination (by 2025/26)
• Undertake a review of waste and recycling service charging (by 2024/25)
• Review the monitoring and reporting framework for local authority waste services (by 2025/26)
• Develop options and consult on the introduction of end destination public reporting of household recycling collected (by 2027/28)

Priority action : Facilitate a process to co-design high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services with households, COSLA, local authorities and service operators.

Timescale: Scoping work commenced in 2023; delivery of the co-design process will take place in 2024/25 and conclude in 2025/26.

2022 consultation recap

Proposals across the household recycling package were well supported. 82% of respondents agreed with the household recycling proposals.^[144] Comments on the co-design proposal were broadly supportive; most respondents welcomed the idea of more consistent service provision across the country, while some noted that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is unlikely to work given Scotland’s diverse geography, local housing stock and existing recycling infrastructure.

Our response: What we will do

It is our view that a co-design process involving households, local government, and the broader resources and waste sector is vital to design modern, efficient and affordable waste and recycling service standards, that also promote greater prioritisation and mainstreaming of reuse, complementing the measures in our ‘Reduce and Reuse’ section of this Route Map.

We will therefore deliver the co-design process across 2024/25 and 2025/26, working in close partnership with COSLA and local government and other stakeholders. Scoping work with local government partners commenced in 2023.

The co-design will take an evidence-based approach and build on what we know works. It will utilise the expertise within Scottish local authorities and beyond, and build on the platform created by previous research, the Scottish Household Recycling Charter, and the investments made by national and local government through the Recycling Improvement Fund.

Through the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, introduced in June 2023, we have moved away from the voluntary approach to Scotland’s Household Recycling Charter towards a mandated approach, by requiring the Scottish Ministers to prepare and publish a statutory Code of practice on household waste recycling, which will place further requirements on local authorities regarding household collection services.

The co-design process will directly inform the future statutory Code of Practice, and support both the development of and local authorities’ actions to meet future local statutory targets from 2030. As well as improving consistency of services, we believe that putting the new code on a statutory footing will provide a clear strategic direction for household recycling in Scotland and accelerate improvements to both the quality and quantity of recycling. This process will build on the existing Code of Practice, identifying areas that can be strengthened and updated in order to deliver better services across Scotland and increase recycling rates.

The co-design process will be underpinned by the principles set out by the Verity House Agreement, focusing on collaboration to achieve better outcomes locally for individuals and communities.^[145]

Placing people and organisations involved in the delivery of and use of these services at the centre of the co-design process is key to ensuring new service standards are fit for the future. The participation of a diverse range of service providers and householders will be key to provide expertise and experience, ensure services are accessible, easy to use and delivered in a way that takes into account diverse geography, local housing stock and recycling infrastructure.

The first consultation response reinforced that there are significant opportunities to be drawn from best practice, both from within Scotland and elsewhere. We will draw upon the wealth of experience and expertise within Scottish local authorities and beyond, to design effective modern services for the future. The co-design process will be informed by:

• Research, indicating the features of high-performing services in different geographical, socio-demographic and operational contexts, building on our previous 2021 research^[146], and consideration of behavioural insight evidence. This will support assessment of the likely improvements in service performance for different contexts, and opportunities to consider diversion to reuse, repair and remanufacturing of products (linked to ‘Reduce and Reuse’ and the Product Stewardship measure).
• Existing service structure, function and performance review, building on the platform created by the Scottish Household Recycling Charter and incorporating the findings of our review of its Code of Practice.
• Upcoming service demands and material flow changes: This will account for the latest information regarding waste composition^[147], including the large volume of food waste that is thrown away and the associated carbon emissions. It will account for future changes, for example as a result of DRS and EPR.^[148] This includes our commitment to require kerbside collection of plastic film and flexible packaging from March 2027 in Scotland; our Climate Change Plan update commitments regarding consultation on the current rural exemption and food separation requirements for food waste collections; and mandatory separate collection of Bio-waste (e.g. garden waste) and textiles^[149] in line with EU requirements; and delivering on recommendations made by the independent review of incineration in Scotland.^[150]
• A review of funding mechanisms for services to ensure modern, efficient and affordable outputs, building on key findings and the investments made through the former Strategic Waste Fund and the Recycling Improvement Fund, and the new provisions set out in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill. Changes to waste, recycling and reuse services and the move to a mandatory Code of Practice, will be closely linked to forthcoming changes in Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility and its funding model, and the proposed review of service charging to ensure that this is incentivising the right choices to increase recycling (see below). Consideration of the available markets and reprocessing capacity for collected materials, and opportunities to facilitate this, will also be crucial.
• Assessment of effective communication practices to inform future standards.
• Consideration of any additional infrastructure required to deliver high-performing services, linked to wider circular economy infrastructure requirements set out elsewhere in the Route Map.
• Assessment of the potential for multiple local authorities to collaborate or partner to deliver services, and the potential efficiencies and economies of scale that this may offer. Some local authorities already work together to deliver aspects of their waste services or share the use of infrastructure. As service structures and demands are reviewed, this will highlight opportunities for collaboration between authorities in the delivery of future recycling and reuse services or processing of recycled materials.

Food waste

A focus on improving food waste will be vital in this co-design process: recycling services and participation rates, and reducing contamination of recycling that is collected. The recently published household waste composition analysis for Scotland (2021-2023) shows that reducing and recycling food waste is one of the biggest challenges Scotland faces in our efforts to tackle the climate impact of Scotland’s waste. Along with textiles, food waste is one of the most carbon intensive household waste materials^[151], yet per year Scottish households threw away 330,000 tonnes of food waste, an average of 131 kilogrammes per household in the residual waste bin.^[152] This confirms our analysis from the first Route Map consultation, that food waste recycling presents one of the largest opportunities to improve household recycling performance and quality in Scotland, and is critical if we are to further reduce the impact of waste on our climate.

Residual waste

We know that there is strong evidence that encouraging households to minimise residual waste is key to driving recycling rate improvements.^[153] In other countries, this has been achieved in multiple ways, for example through restricting effective weekly residual waste capacity (via smaller bins and/or less frequent collections, as promoted through Scotland’s existing recycling Code of Practice), enforced volume limits (as in Wales), or other fiscal measures to incentivise reducing residual waste and maximising reuse and recycling. The co-design of the new Code of Practice will consider how existing measures to restrict household residual waste capacity can be supported or improved.

Though there are a variety of methods to effectively minimise household residual waste, alongside this consultation we have published further research looking at international examples of direct variable charging models and the lessons we can learn for future service design in Scotland. There are no plans to implement direct variable charging in Scotland, however the research reinforces the importance of the co-design process in actively considering ways to consistently incentivise the minimisation of residual waste by households.^[154] We intend to initiate a review of existing service charging, as set out below, to complement the co-design process.

The bigger picture: Making an impact

• Household recycling: The recycling co-design process will set a framework for the design and implementation of subsequent recycling measures. This includes informing what a future statutory household Code of Practice will look like, enabling progress against future local recycling and reuse targets, providing valuable insights to inform how the monitoring and reporting framework for local authority waste services can be strengthened, and consideration of further measures to incentivise waste reduction at a household level.
• Significant national and local investment has been put into reforming existing services, for example through the Recycling Improvement Fund, and there are upcoming legislative changes through the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, which will directly impact services. This co-design is an opportunity to consider these issues in the round, providing a template for long-term service design and ongoing improvement that will build on previous and current investments.
• Commercial recycling: The household recycling co-design and statutory Code of Practice are crucial to commercial recycling and reuse measures outlined later in this chapter, providing a co-design template to draw lessons from for the commercial equivalent. Many local authorities provide a commercial recycling service to businesses, and changes to household services may have direct impacts on these commercial services.
• Reduce and reuse: The co-design process and subsequent statutory Code of Practice are inextricably strategically linked to broader waste reduction and promoting reuse, particularly producer responsibility and product stewardship measures. Product Stewardship priorities must inform and be informed by the co-design process, to ensure future policies and actions are aligned to target priority materials across the waste hierarchy. For illustration, a material which is subject to an extended producer responsibility scheme must have an easy-to-use, accessible recycling and/ or reuse option(s) for households to support recyclability, divert that material from the residual waste stream and extend its lifecycle.
• Decarbonising disposal: By investing collaborative effort in co-design and reform, we can deliver rapid reductions in the proportion of recyclable materials in the residual waste stream.^[155] The importance of this was underlined through the Independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland.^[156] By removing recyclable material from residual waste, especially plastics, we can substantially reduce emissions associated with incineration. This will align with measures set out in the ‘Decarbonise disposal’ section, including policies incentivising the recovery of more plastics from residual waste, and the inclusion of incineration in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
• Future infrastructure requirements: A key cross-cutting theme for a modern circular economy, we intend to take a strategic approach to this, working alongside public and commercial sector partners; the co-design process will support this process, exploring what Scotland will need in the future to modernise recycling.

Further actions to 2030

Here we set out further actions we will seek to take to 2030 to modernise household recycling and reuse services. The measures listed intend to build on and complement our priority actions above. We recognise that some actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

1. Develop a statutory code of practice for household waste services by 2025/26, with a focus on recycling and reuse.

Through the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill^[157], introduced in June 2023, we have introduced a requirement upon the Scottish Ministers to prepare and publish a statutory Code of Practice on household waste recycling. This will move away from the voluntary approach to Scotland’s Household Recycling Charter towards a mandated approach to household waste collection services. As well as improving consistency of services, putting a new Code of Practice for recycling and reuse on a statutory footing will provide a clear strategic direction for modernising recycling in Scotland and accelerate improvements to both the quality and quantity of recycling. Statutory guidance will be used to ensure that services are high performing in different local contexts and put people at the heart of how services are designed through maximising participation, material capture, and quality.

2. Introduce statutory recycling and reuse local performance targets for household waste services from 2030 onwards.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, as introduced, enables the use of statutory local recycling and reuse targets (e.g. recycling, preparation for reuse and composting) for local authorities to help drive further improvements in local recycling performance for household waste services from 2030. This will complement the co-designed statutory Code of Practice (action 1 above) and the wider work to develop a new circular economy monitoring framework and circular economy targets (see ‘Strengthen our circular economy’ section). Local targets must be evidence based, and will be informed by research on metrics that measure quality and quantity of material collected. To support this, new research on the design, application and use of targets across the world has recently been completed.^{[158] [159]} We recognise that targets must be achievable and fair; local authorities are at different starting points, with varied geographies and demographics; and service providers must have the tools available to meet the required standard. The Scottish Government will, therefore, work with local government to set achievable, appropriate targets as part of the development of secondary regulations and consultation for new targets ahead of 2030. The Welsh Government, which has implemented a similar policy, provided local authorities with two years’ notice of targets when targets were first introduced in 2012/13.^[160] The Scottish Government considers this to be the minimum reasonable notice period for targets and recognises that more notice is both desirable and likely to help with achieving targets. The Bill provision also gives Scottish Ministers an enforcement role with respect to the targets, with a monitoring role for SEPA. Where targets are not met, Ministers will be able to seek an explanation and propose an improvement plan or impose penalties. We will continue to engage with stakeholders regarding the future design of targets.

3. Strengthen Householder’s duty of care in relation to household waste: making a breach of the householder duty of care a criminal offence and creating a new fixed penalty regime to enforce this duty, by 2025/26.

Householders have some specific, limited duty of care obligations to take reasonable steps to ensure that their household waste is only transferred to a legitimate waste carrier or other person authorised to transport waste. They are subject to separate obligations with respect to the storage of household waste on their property. Subject to passage of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, a breach of the existing householder duty of care will be a criminal offence and local authorities and other relevant bodies will be granted powers to enforce non-compliance with this existing obligation by way of a fixed penalty notice as an alternative to criminal proceedings. The policy intention is to aid in the prevention of fly-tipping as this will allow for the imposition of a penalty where flytipped waste can be traced back to a particular household, and also to raise awareness of householder responsibilities when transferring and disposing of waste. This will be developed in parallel with measure 4 below, to ensure a coherent set of new enforcement powers for local government. An Fixed Penalty Notice for breach of the householder duty of care may only be issued where there is a reason to believe that the householder has breached the duty. If a householder has taken reasonable steps to comply with their duty of care and manage the transfer of their waste to an authorised person, or there is a reasonable excuse for their having breached the duty of care, then there would be no basis to either charge that person with an offence or to issue a fixed penalty notice. Timing for delivery in 2025/26 is indicative, and will be dependent on the passage of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, and findings from the household recycling co-design process.

4. Give local authorities more tools to ensure that households are properly using their recycling containers and to reduce recycling contamination by 2025/26.

There are currently limited powers for local authorities to ensure that households are properly using their recycling containers or to prevent recycling being placed in non-recyclable containers. Current criminal enforcement routes are onerous and expensive for local authorities. Given concerns about non-participation rates and increased contamination of recyclate that is collected from householders, the policy intention is also to strengthen local authorities’ enforcement powers in relation to household recycling by enabling local authorities to issue written warnings, civil penalties or fixed penalty notices to households that do not comply with household recycling requirements. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill provision will enable local authorities to issue written warnings and where those warnings are not heeded, civil penalties or fixed penalty notices to householders who place the wrong materials in waste and recycling bins. This provides local authorities with more flexibility in their approach and more proportionate enforcement tools. Similar powers are already available to local authorities in England and Wales to enforce persistent or deliberate contamination. Scottish local authorities would have the option to deploy an escalating response to non-compliance, by initially issuing written warnings and where those warnings are not complied with, civil penalty charges or, where the behaviour is more serious, issuing fixed penalty notices to households. This will be developed in parallel with action 3 above, to ensure a coherent set of new enforcement powers for local government. Timing for delivery in 2025/26 is indicative, and will be dependent on the passage of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, and findings from the household recycling co-design process.

5. Undertake a review of waste and recycling service charging by 2024/25.

We intend to conduct a review of waste and recycling service charging by 2025 to ensure that we have the right incentives to reduce waste and maximise use of recycling and reuse services. Currently, households in Scotland can be charged for collection of certain waste and recyclate streams, such as garden waste or uplift of larger items. This review will investigate whether the current position incentivises the right positive behaviours, and delivers the most value for local authorities, including the highest quality recyclate. The review will account for current and future funding availability for household services, including the potential revenue stream from the new packaging EPR scheme. This review will link in directly to the broader recycling co-design process given the significant connection between charging, funding and future service requirements; key findings will help inform the future statutory Code of Practice.

6. Review the monitoring and reporting framework for local authority waste services by 2025/26, and subsequently strengthen where necessary.

As part of the recycling co-design and development of local statutory targets, we intend to review in partnership with local government where additional or alternative reporting may be required to help drive and assure further service improvements, and public confidence in local services. This will take into account existing national and local reporting arrangements already in place or planned, for example through measures like a UK-wide digital waste tracking system and the development of a new Circular Economy monitoring framework for Scotland (see ‘Strengthen the circular economy’ section). The intention of this work is to ensure consistency of data availability, quality and accessibility, a cross-cutting theme across this Route Map. We will take forward appropriate improvements identified, consult on and implement required changes prior to commencing statutory targets for local authorities in 2030.

As part of this, we intend to build on the recent 2021-23 household waste compositional analysis undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland in partnership with local and national government.^[161] This will improve the quality and timeliness of data, enabling local and national government to develop and design measures that continue to improve access to and modernise household services.

7. Develop options and consult on the introduction of a requirement on local authorities and others to report publicly on end destination of household recycling collected by 2027/28.

To increase transparency and strengthen public confidence in recycling services, and boost Scotland's ability domestically to manage its waste, we will develop options for and consult on a statutory duty on collecting local authorities to report on the final end destinations of collected material. This will include any necessary responsibility for those involved in waste management supply chains to provide data. The 2022 Route map consultation^[162] showed widespread support for this proposal, with many respondents agreeing that it would help improve public confidence in recycling. We recognise the need to be mindful in how additional reporting requirements on actors in the supply chain are placed, and will carefully consider links to existing and planned measures, including UK-wide digital waste tracking, as options are developed.

SECTION 2: COMMERCIAL RECYCLING

Proposed priority actions:

• Review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements (2025)
• Co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provisions (2026/27)

Further actions:

To both complement and build on these priorities, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Conduct a national compositional study of waste from commercial premises (by 2025/26)
• Investigate further steps to promote business-business reuse platforms (by 2027)

Priority action : Review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements.

Timescale: The review will commence in 2024, and report findings by the end of 2025.

2022 consultation recap

Most respondents to the first consultation^[163] agreed that the proposed review of compliance would help gather insight and contribute to an evidence base to inform future policy and actions, and some commented on the scope of the review.

Our response: What we will do

It is clear from the response to the 2022 consultation that stakeholders broadly agree with the vision and aims for commercial recycling and reuse. To build on this platform, we set out our intention to initiate a co-design with businesses and the waste sector to achieve these goals (see below).

However, to meaningfully tackle the barriers and support Scottish businesses to achieve waste reduction and improved recycling and reuse, we must urgently improve our understanding of these barriers.

Working alongside SEPA, we will therefore undertake a review of compliance with current commercial recycling requirements in Scotland. The review will begin in 2024, and will report its findings by the end of 2025. Scotland's commercial waste requirements in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 were brought in by the landmark 2012 Waste (Scotland) Regulations^[164] nearly a decade ago, and we believe it is the right time to fully review whether these requirements, and their enforcement, are delivering their aims.

The review will look at current compliance with the statutory requirements by businesses, and the underlying reasons or barriers to compliance. We will use the review to support compliance, and its findings will feed directly into the co-design process (see below) to develop further interventions to maximise waste prevention, reuse, and recycling.

This work will be supplemented by a compositional study of waste from commercial premises, which will help us as a nation to identify priority materials, products and sectors for waste prevention and recycling interventions. Further detail on this measure is provided later in this section.

Priority action : Co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provisions that drive waste prevention and reuse, and maximise recycling.

Timescale: Preparation in 2025/26, co-design process in 2026/27.

2022 consultation recap

Respondents from a diverse range of sectors expressed support for this proposal, valuing the emphasis on a collaborative approach.^[165] The suggested interventions were welcomed, particularly the focus on reducing food waste and the exploration of fiscal measures to incentivise commercial recycling and waste prevention.

Our response: What we will do

Our review of the available evidence^[166] and the feedback from stakeholders to the first consultation has strengthened our view that a co-design of new interventions and approaches to commercial waste and recycling is vital to make progress in this area.

We will therefore launch a process of co-design in 2026/27 with the business community, the Scottish resources and waste sector and other key stakeholders. The aim of this process will be to identify and design measures that will deliver improvements in waste prevention, reuse and recycling, and reduce emissions associated with commercial waste. Consistent with the New Deal for Business, this will draw directly on the expertise held across the sector, on the experiences of different sizes of businesses, and on the evidence drawn together through key measures like waste compositional analysis and the review of compliance. Our approach will be based on the New Deal for Business^[167], ensuring the expertise of and evidence from the business sector informs policy development and avoids unnecessary or unintended costs, whilst supporting circular economy objectives.

Potential measures will be a matter for the co-design process, but for illustration, may include targeted communications and engagement, further fiscal measures that incentivise recycling or waste prevention, procurement advice and guidance. The co-design may also identify a need for further legislation or updated statutory guidance to drive the progress required. Consideration will be given to how any measures would impact waste reduction and reuse/repair efforts, targeting of specific materials in line with other Route Map measures (e.g. product stewardship, residual waste plan), management routes to reprocessing, and maximising the economic value of resources. In line with stakeholder feedback to the first consultation, food waste reduction and recycling in particular will be prioritised, building on the interventions proposed in the Reduce and reuse section of the Route Map.

The commercial co-design will also draw upon the lessons learnt from the equivalent household co-design process outlined above, particularly given the roles of local authorities across both the household and commercial services landscape.

We will ensure strategic join up between the co-design and the measures set out in the ‘Decarbonise disposal’ section below, including policies incentivising the recovery of more plastics from residual waste, and the role of incineration in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. The co-design is key to meeting our commitments to maximise the value of waste, decarbonise residual waste, and achieve the best environmental outcomes for materials.

We believe this process will ensure a shared vision across Scotland about what must be done to achieve our waste and climate change objectives to 2030. It will provide clear confidence in future measures that take account of the specific challenges facing both commercial premises and the resources and waste sector in Scotland; and enable successful delivery at both a national and local level.

Commercial zoning

In the first consultation, we proposed piloting a form of business recycling zoning. Business collection zoning involves contractors competing to undertake all commercial waste collection in a particular ‘zone’, which potentially provides opportunities for greater collaboration, cost savings, service standardisation, and reducing traffic, etc. 66% of respondents supported the proposal in the equivalent Circular Economy Bill consultation^[168]. However, stakeholders raised significant concerns regarding likely impact, in particular on small and medium sized enterprises in Scotland around potential loss of competition and monopoly price escalation. A further feasibility review of commercial zoning models across the world^[169], completed since the initial consultation, has indicated that there is some potential for both mandatory and voluntary models to deliver improvements in recycling rates, greenhouse gas emission reduction and wider benefits. However, the research did not indicate that mandatory approaches to zoning were more successful than voluntary approaches at increasing recycling. As it stands, there is nothing to prevent Scottish Government and/or local authorities supporting the setup of voluntary schemes within the current legislative framework, and there are already some existing examples in Scotland, such as Essential Edinburgh Business Improvement District (BID)^[170]. Without strong evidence to indicate greater improvements through mandatory over voluntary approaches, and given stakeholder feedback, we do not believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue mandatory zoning as the preferred approach at this stage. Research also highlighted a range of issues that require further consideration, including implementation, costs, planning and contracting for services. Feedback from the consultation and findings from the zoning research will be drawn upon through the co-design process (outlined above) to find solutions that enable the business community to drive commercial recycling and reuse improvements and to support local areas with a desire to pilot voluntary approaches to commercial zoning.

Further actions to 2030

The review of compliance and the commercial co-design process will set the critical framework for implementation of further interventions to support businesses in Scotland to reduce waste, reuse and maximise recycling. Below we set out further actions we will seek to take to 2030 to build on and complement our priority actions. These proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to explore or develop.

1. Conduct a national compositional study of waste from commercial premises by 2025/26.

There is currently no detailed data or analysis of commercial waste at a national level, so it is unknown how much recyclable material is contained in residual commercial waste. Working with Zero Waste Scotland, SEPA, and the commercial waste and resources sector we propose to conduct a national compositional study of residual waste from commercial premises by 2025/26, to identify priority materials, products and sectors for waste prevention and recycling interventions. This will help us account for current and future waste composition, including the impact of policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility and the Deposit Return Scheme. To support this process, ZWS has published a report^[171] on a survey to scope the existing data availability and practises within the commercial recycling and waste landscape, helping to explore the challenges and opportunities around delivery of a national compositional study.

There was broad support for this measure in the 2022 consultation, with respondents describing it as an ‘essential’ exercise in terms of addressing data gaps within commercial recycling and improving service provision. Beyond 2026, we will seek to deliver a rolling programme of commercial waste analysis so that we can assess change over time and evaluate the impacts of interventions.

2. Investigate further steps to promote business-business reuse platforms by 2027.

Across the Route Map, we are seeking to improve the consumer experience in order to make reuse an everyday part of life for households (see Reduce and reuse section). Similarly, we are committed to supporting alternative business models so that leasing, repair and refurbishment, and reuse of products is easier and more attractive. There are good examples of this across Scotland and we are keen to promote and extend the ease of access, quality of products and uptake of services which normalise lease, repair, purchase of second-hand products, and extension of product lifespan through commercial customers. We will undertake a focused piece of work looking at ways we can promote business to business reuse platforms. This will look at themes such as support for operators to establish themselves in new areas, expansion of existing service models to include new products, digitisation of stock to expand markets, partnership approaches to achieve operational efficiencies; and investment in skills and training programmes to ensure sufficient expertise to make businesses viable. Consultation respondents were supportive of measures to support businesses to reduce waste and normalise reuse, with emphasis on a collaborative approach which involves engagement with businesses and industry stakeholders.

Click here to preview an infographic showing the Route Map Strategic Aims in full.

Consultation questions

Question 3: To what extent do you agree with the priority actions proposed within the Modernise Recycling strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 4: To what extent do you agree with the further actions to 2030 listed across the Modernise Recycling strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

3: Decarbonise disposal

Summary of proposed priority actions:

• Develop and deliver a Residual Waste Plan to 2045 (develop by 2025/26)
• Facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the carbon impacts of the Energy from Waste Sector (by 2025/26)

Vision statement

The production and management of waste results in environmental impacts and represents missed economic opportunities for these materials. That is why our focus in this Route Map is to prevent materials from becoming waste in the first place. As we accelerate our move to a circular economy we will produce less waste. We want to ensure that materials that cannot be avoided, reused or recycled are managed in a way that minimises environmental and climate impacts, encourages management of materials further up the waste hierarchy, and minimises broader societal impacts.

Strategic objectives

To deliver this vision, we have set out the following strategic objectives:

• Understand the best environmental outcomes for specific wastes: To deliver the best environmental outcomes, we need a clear understanding of key waste streams and the impacts of options to manage them.
• Ensure there is an appropriate capacity to manage waste: Waste management requires long-term investment in infrastructure and skills, but the nature and amount of waste will change as we move to a circular economy. Therefore, we need to clearly understand and signal future capacity requirements and timelines for policy implementation to enable investment in the right levels of capacity.
• Improve environmental outcomes for waste through innovation: Alongside delivering the right amount of capacity, we also need research, development and innovation to adopt improvements and new technologies to deliver the best environmental outcomes.
• Incentivise decarbonisation of the waste sector ^[172] : We need to ensure the best environmental outcomes for waste aligns with our emissions reduction ambitions. This will require us to continue to divert biodegradable waste away from landfills, mitigate the emissions from biodegradable waste already landfilled, and take action to decarbonise the energy from waste sector.

We recognise that waste management is a complex system; the nature and volume of waste streams will change in time, particularly due to other policies set out in this Route Map. Generally, those managing waste have little control over the nature and volumes of waste streams; and the options available to manage these wastes depend heavily on geography, available capacity, and advancements in technology.

Measuring progress

Scotland’s previous indicators in this space have focused on the proportion of waste landfilled, both overall, and biodegradable municipal waste. Continued diversion of waste away from landfill has contributed to our 2025 target to send a maximum of 5% of waste to landfill by 2025. However, while our current 2025 targets are important milestones, they should not be the end destination. Our first Route Map consultation^[173] highlighted that we need to move beyond measuring tonnage alone. This ‘all waste’ tonnage-based target does not account for the varying environmental or carbon impact of individual materials, and is not fully aligned with our vision to deliver the best environmental and climate impacts for all waste. This approach was endorsed by many of the responses to the consultation, and aligns with recommendations by the Climate Change Committee.^{[174] [175]}

The further decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the Waste Management Sector is important to measuring progress. The majority of emissions are from the decomposition of biodegradable waste in landfills, which produces methane - a greenhouse gas that is around 28 times more potent in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Actions that further divert biodegradable waste from landfill, including those set out in this chapter are, therefore, vital to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

Similarly, we want to see long-term reduction of emissions from Energy from Waste. Energy from waste emissions are reported under the Electricity Sector^[176]. In line with recommendations from the Climate Change Committee and the Independent Review of Incineration^[177], from June 2023 we have started reporting emissions from Energy from Waste as a sub-category within the Scottish greenhouse gas inventory^[178].

From 2025, we will set new circular economy targets to at least 2030. New targets may include consumption, reducing waste, reuse and recycling locally and nationally, and disposal, and consider both material-specific and emission-based targets. In addition, a monitoring and indicator framework will be developed over 2024/25. This will allow more holistic tracking of Scotland’s consumption levels and wider measures of circularity. As part of this process, we will consider the wider environmental impacts of waste, aligning with our Environment Strategy. See the ‘Strengthen the circular economy' section for more on beyond 2025 targets.

Where we are now

We now landfill less than half of what we did in 2005, but we still landfill 30.2% of all the waste we produce in Scotland^[179]. Measures such as the Scottish Landfill Tax, diverting waste from landfill to incineration, andimproving recycling rates have reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill^[180].

These measures, as well as increased food waste recycling, have reduced the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, which has reduced Waste Sector emissions. In 2021, the Waste Management Sector was responsible for emissions of 1.5 MtCO2e, largely from the landfilling of biodegradable waste^[181], a significant decrease from 6.5 MtCO2e emitted in 1990.

However, the diversion of waste to energy from waste facilities has led to an increase in emissions from energy from waste (reported as emissions in the Electricity Sector) to 0.3 MtCO2e in 2021, 19% of Electricity Sector emissions. These energy from waste emissions are expected to rise in the short-term as further waste is diverted from landfill, although, this is expected to be accompanied by a larger longer-term decrease in emissions from the waste sector as a whole due to lower landfill emissions^[182]. The actions set out in this chapter are, therefore, vital toreduce greenhouse gas emissions from both the Waste Management and Power Sectors.

Despite a significant reduction in the waste landfilled, achieving our target to send a maximum of 5% of waste to landfill target by 2025 represents a significant challenge. Much of the remaining material we landfill has a low carbon impact when landfilled or cannot easily be recycled or disposed of by other means and, therefore, achieving our 5% target does not fully align with our emissions reduction commitments or other environmental ambitions in the long term.

What we have done so far

We continue to progress key policies, building on those already delivered, to move towards our vision of minimising the impacts of managing waste.Current measures to divert waste from landfill to recycling or other disposal, include The Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014, a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill from 31 December 2025, and support for local authorities to secure contracts that comply with the landfill ban.

To minimise emissions from landfills, and in line with CCC recommendations^[183], we intend to roll out the next programme of work seeking to improve landfill gas capture rates at closed landfill sites, reducing the impact of biodegradable waste already landfilled.

We commissioned the independent review of incineration and have published our responses to both of Dr Church’s reports^[184]. The independent review found that, in terms of managing residual waste, incineration was currently preferable to landfill, but made clear recommendations around capacity and decarbonisation of energy from waste. We accepted, in principle or in full, all of the Review’s recommendations. In response to recommendations on capacity, our National Planning Framework 4 sets out that the Scottish Government will not support new developments of energy from waste facilities, except under limited circumstances[185]. We will also develop an indicative capacity cap to ensure that we have an appropriate amount of capacity as the amount of residual waste declines through our acceleration to a circular economy. To drive decarbonisation of energy from waste, we have set a clear ambition to end the unnecessary incineration of plastics.

In addition, we are working with other nations in the UK on the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to include incineration and energy from waste. The UK ETS Authority[186] held a call for evidence as part of a wider consultation in March 2023, and published a response to this consultation in June 2023^[187]. The response set out that inclusion of incineration and energy from waste in the UK ETS could facilitate reductions in emissions and increased efficiency of these processes by, for example, incentivising increases in recycling and investments in mixed waste sorting, heat networks and carbon capture and storage. Given this, the response noted an intention to include incineration and energy from waste in the UK ETS from 2028, but noted further work was needed on several areas ahead of a further consultation.

Delivering our vision

Proposed priority actions:

• Develop and deliver a Residual Waste Plan to 2045 (develop by 2025/26)
• Facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the carbon impacts of the Energy from Waste Sector (by 2025/26)

Further actions:

To both complement and build on these priorities, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Support the inclusion of energy from waste in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and investigate other fiscal measures to incentivise low carbon disposal (from 2028)
• Review and target materials currently landfilled to identify and drive alternative management routes (from 2024)
• Facilitate the co-production of guidelines for effective community engagement (process underway from 2024)
• Increase the capture of landfill gas (by 2025/26)

It is clear from the first Route Map consultation and the independent Review of Incineration^[188], that further action is required to ensure that materials that cannot be avoided, reused or recycled are managed in a way that minimises environmental and climate impacts, encourages management of materials further up the waste hierarchy, and minimises broader societal impacts. This section sets out our priority actions to deliver this, and accelerate progress against our waste and climate targets.

Priority action : Develop and deliver a Residual Waste Plan to ensure the best environmental outcome for unavoidable and unrecyclable waste and set strategic direction for management of residual waste to 2045.

Timescale: Research and engagement during 2023/24 and 2024/25. Publication in 2025/26.

2022 consultation recap

Proposals in the disposal package were strongly supported by respondents to the consultation, 87% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed, but some respondents sought additional detail on the Residual Waste Plan.^[189] Questions were raised about how the Plan would link into broader waste and circular economy initiatives; how different materials would be treated, citing the need for a targeted approach; and the urgency needed to meet the challenges we face. Alignment with planning and net zero policy, the use of technology and operational efficiencies were also raised.

Our response: What we will do

We will develop and deliver a Residual Waste Plan to 2045. The Plan will be published in 2025/26 and will set the long-term vision for future disposal practices in Scotland to minimise the environmental and climate impacts of waste while ensuring that we have appropriate capacity in place to manage the expected, declining volumes of waste in the future.

Waste systems are highly-complex and there are a variety of factors that will influence the future volumes, compositions and types of waste that need to be managed in Scotland, and which need to be strategically considered over the long-term.

The specific scope of the Plan will be shaped in collaboration with the advisory group, see below but broadly, it will:

• Build on current data to improve our understanding of the current and future residual waste streams, including for hazardous and clinical waste.
• Investigate and make recommendations on Scotland’s long-term infrastructure requirements to manage waste. This includes both the development of an indicative cap to inform planning and investment decisions on future EfW capacity requirements; and considering how to ensure a strategic withdrawal from landfill to ensure we maintain the necessary capacity to manage waste for which landfill remains the best environmental outcome.
• Take a targeted approach to manage materials to ensure the best environmental outcome for materials when they require disposal. This will require the identification of priority waste streams and actions to reduce the environmental impact of their disposal, for example, exploring alternative pathways for sorting residues, by researching potential uses, treatment options, cost benefit analysis, market demand and implementation measures.
• Investigate emerging technologies that may allow better management of waste and minimised environmental and social impacts where materials continue to be disposed of. This includes how we manage unavoidable wastes such as those containing persistent organic pollutants.
• Consider how we manage legacy waste infrastructure to continue to minimise environmental impacts and maximise societal gains.

To guide the development of the Plan, we will establish a Residual Waste Advisory Panel. We believe this collaborative approach is vital to draw upon the expertise across these sectors, and build joint ownership and the confidence needed to invest in infrastructure across the resource recovery chain.

Priority action : Facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the Carbon Impacts of the Energy from Waste Sector.

Timescale: Research and engagement during 2023/24 and 202/25. Publication in 2025/26.

2022 consultation recap

Proposals in the disposal package were strongly supported by respondents.^[190] Most responses on this proposal asked for more detail about implementation, expressed broad support, or suggested potential effective processes to capture and use energy more effectively, remove plastics, and capture and use carbon post-incineration.

Our response: What we will do

We will facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the Carbon Impacts of Energy from Waste.

The energy from waste sector currently produces around 0.3 MtCO2e of emissions each year. The sector will need to align with emissions reductions ambitions, while ensuring there is sufficient capacity to manage the decreasing volumes of waste we produce in Scotland.

This sector-led plan will form a specific strand of the Residual Waste Plan. It will set out how the sector will minimise climate impacts of energy from waste specifically, and ensure that actions across the energy from waste sector are aligned with net zero ambitions by:

• Focusing on measures to end the unnecessary incineration of high carbon-emitting materials from incineration, such as plastics;

• Identifying barriers to ending the unnecessary incineration of plastics and opportunities to overcome these barriers;
• Considering how Scotland can make the most of potential opportunities presented by the inclusion of energy from waste and incineration in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme;

• Consider opportunities to decarbonise energy from waste, particularly the barriers and opportunities, such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage, as some consultation respondents flagged;
• Identify knowledge gaps and essential research required to overcome barriers to decarbonisation of the sector.

Waste industry ownership of this sector-led plan is important to ensure economic and environmental viability of the plan, and that a significant impact can be achieved on a voluntary basis. However, given the urgency and scale of actions required to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution challenges, we will also explore options for mandating compliance.

The bigger picture: Making an impact to 2030

• Strategic importance: The Residual Waste Plan and Sector-Led Plan to Restrict Carbon Impacts of Energy from Waste have broad strategic importance across this Route Map and beyond, informing what data and evidence we will need to understand the waste we produce, how we manage current, future and legacy waste infrastructure, and what waste management looks like in a fully circular economy. It will, therefore, be critical to link up the development of both Plans with the development of measures across the Route Map including:
  • Reduce and reuse: The product priorities identified in our Product Stewardship measure, with the way we treat products directly impacting future residual waste management composition and future needs.
  • Modernising household recycling: Account for the outputs of the Household Recycling co-design and resulting statutory code of practice, as more material is recycled, and we think strategically about our recycling, reprocessing and disposal infrastructure requirements.
  • Commercial recycling: Consideration of the findings of the review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements, which will form important evidence for the development of the Residual Waste Plan, alongside the proposed commercial recycling co-design.

Further actions to 2030

The Residual Waste Plan and the Sector-Led Plan (‘the Plans’) are the key interventions to drive delivery of our strategic objectives, and provide a framework for the development of additional measures. Here we set out the further measures we will seek to progress to 2030. We recognise that some actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

1. Support the inclusion of energy from waste in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and investigate other fiscal measures to incentivise low carbon disposal, from 2028.

Building on our recent 4-nations response to a call for evidence, which set out that the UK ETS Authority (formed of the 4-nations) is minded-to include energy from waste and incineration in the UK ETS^[191], we will work with other UK nations to develop proposals for this policy ahead of a full consultation. We will also consider what additional fiscal measures and supporting policies could be introduced to reduce the carbon emissions associated with disposal further, particularly through the Sector-Led Plan to minimise Carbon Impacts of Energy from Waste. In line with this, we have commissioned research to consider international best practice for the use of fiscal policy levers to change behaviour and reduce climate emissions.

2. Review and target materials currently landfilled to identify and drive alternative management routes from 2024.

We have committed to extending the ban on landfilling waste to include non-municipal biodegradable waste^[192], subject to appropriate consultation and work to provide assurance around some specific waste streams. We will bring forward a call for evidence in 2024 to begin to better understand these and other problematic waste streams and identify alternative treatment options for these wastes.

3. Facilitate the co-production of guidelines for effective community engagement.

The independent review of incineration^[193] in Scotland’s waste hierarchy noted that communities deserve more authentic and committed engagement from local authorities and industry than is currently sometimes the case. In response to the independent review’s recommendation on this, we will facilitate the co-production of meaningful and effective community engagement guidance, working with community groups, local authorities and residual waste operators. We will begin gathering stakeholder views on the process from 2024.

4. Increase the capture of landfill gas by 2025/26.

Building on our commitment in the Climate Change Plan update (2020)^[194], we want to work with industry and the public sector to maximise landfill gas capture opportunities in Scotland to 2030. We will extend the landfill gas capture programme to increase the number of sites undertaking investigative or development work by 2025/26 to increase the amount of landfill gas captured in Scotland and minimise environmental impacts of closed landfill sites. We recognise that industry has made strides to improve and optimise landfill gas capture. This will be supported by research to explore current and emerging options for low-level gas capture by 2025.

To complement the efforts being made across the public and private sectors, through our Residual Waste Plan (see above) we intend to review the existing regulatory and fiscal framework around landfill sites, and the potential options to drive the pace and scale of decarbonisation. As noted in our response to the independent review of incineration in the waste hierarchy^[195], we will engage with industry to understand the consequences of changes to landfill management financial incentives.

Click here to preview an infographic showing the Route Map Strategic Aims in full.

Consultation questions

Question 5: To what extent do you agree with the priority actions proposed within the Decarbonise disposal strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 6: To what extent do you agree with the further actions to 2030 listed across the Decarbonise disposal strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

4: Strengthen the circular economy

Summary of proposed priority actions:

• Develop a Circular Economy strategy every five years (from 2025)
• Set new circular economy targets (determined from 2025).

Vision Statement

Delivering a circular economy is not a simple task. It requires sustained transformational system change, and a range of actions that are both complementary and coordinated to drive sustainable management of our resources. If Team Scotland are to maximise the opportunities that a circular economy brings to Scotland, we must maintain a strategic approach to its delivery, ensuring the right structures and support are in place to enable action across the circular economy.

Strategic Objectives

This chapter sets out the steps we will take at a strategic level to make this happen, building on the whole-system approach used to develop this Route Map.

Its key objective is to provide strategic oversight and direction for the delivery of a circular economy in Scotland. This means:

• Setting strategic direction and maximising impact, ensuring the sum of our coordinated actions is greater than the individual parts. There is a need to ensure the range of actions that we are undertaking is both complementary and coordinated as part of our overall efforts to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. This includes setting our circular economy objectives within the wider strategic framework and mainstreaming across policy to meet our objectives, as Chapter 1 sets out.
• Coordinating action across cross-cutting areas to support progress across the waste hierarchy. These include research, data and evidence to underpin successful delivery of our vision and individual measures; sustainable procurement to enable and define how we demand products and services; and the skills and training required to drive a fully circular economy in Scotland.
• Robustly monitor and evaluate progress to enable agile working, take action where we are not on track, and learn from and implement what works. This includes tracking the impact we have on the global carbon footprint.

What we’ve done so far

The Environment Strategy for Scotland^[196] creates an overarching framework for Scotland's strategies and plans on the environment and climate change. It sets out a guiding vision for Scotland's environment and our role in tackling the global climate and nature crises.

Making Things Last: a circular economy strategy for Scotland^[197] was published in 2016. This integrated elements of the Zero Waste Plan^[198] (2010) and Safeguarding Scotland's Resources (2013)^[199].

The update to Climate Change Plan (2020) sets out the Scottish Government's pathway to our emissions reduction targets set by the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, including the waste management sector’s contribution.^[200]

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill^[201] has been introduced, and if passed, will set a legislative framework for Scotland’s circular economy by placing requirements on, or enabling further action by, central and local government, businesses and householders.

Delivering our vision

Summary of proposed priority actions:

• Develop a Circular Economy strategy every five years (from 2025)
• Set new circular economy targets (determined from 2025)

Further actions:

To both complement and build on the priorities throughout this Route Map, we will seek to progress the following actions to 2030:

• Review and refresh Scotland’s Waste Data Strategy’s action plan
• Maintain a programme of research on waste prevention, behaviour change, fiscal incentives and material-specific priorities
• Develop public procurement opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of public spending, including scoping new legislative circular economy requirements for contracting authorities under section 82 and 82A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009
• Support greater uptake of green skills, training and development opportunities

Priority action : Develop a Circular Economy strategy every five years.

Timescale: Update or refresh every five years, with the first strategy set from 2025.

2022 consultation recap

93% of respondents agreed with the proposed measures set out in the package on Cross-cutting measures, including the strategy.^[202] Many respondents endorsed the proposal to introduce a duty to develop a Circular Economy Strategy, and much of the feedback was around the strategic focus, and specific issues to include or consider in the development of the strategy. The Bill consultation^[203] saw the majority of responses (87%) agree that a five-yearly circular economy strategy would allow Scotland to react and adapt to changing environmental issues and regulatory landscapes.

Our response: What we will do

Currently, there is no statutory requirement to prepare and publish a circular economy strategy for Scotland. Ministers may choose to do so, but they are not required to do so.

We believe there is merit in strengthening the existing strategic approach by placing a duty on Scottish Ministers to publish or refresh a circular economy strategy every 5 years. This requirement on Scottish Ministers has been included in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill^[204].

The strategy will give a clear indication of priority sectors and systems, a clear direction of travel for businesses and wider stakeholders and require to be reported on to Parliament. It will build on existing frameworks, such as this Route Map, and require that Ministers have regard to it when developing wider policies, including proposals for legislation. A recent review of existing international circular economy strategies and action plans undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland concluded that a statutory obligation for a circular economy strategy would likely be beneficial for a number of reasons: for example, it can prioritise key measures to adopt, and serve as a framework that other policies and strategies should be understood within.

The provision within the Bill (as introduced) sets out very specific requirements for the circular economy strategy. This includes:

• It must set out objectives for, plans towards, and details of how the Scottish Government will monitor the development of a circular economy.
• Scottish Ministers, in considering any priorities for action in the strategy, must have regard for priority sectors and systems which are most likely to contribute to the development of a circular economy.
• To ensure that the circular economy strategy supports wider aims, that the strategy be consistent with the Climate Change Plan, the environmental policy strategy and other relevant strategies or plans.
• The process for consultation on a draft circular economy strategy, with a requirement that the strategy is kept under review and revised within 5 years.
• To ensure accountability, that a report on progress in respect of objectives and plans included in the strategy is published and laid before the Scottish Parliament two and half years after the publication of the strategy.

Priority action : Setting new circular economy targets beyond 2025.

Timescale: Research underway across 2023-2024, with new targets to be consulted on, and determined from 2025.

2022 consultation recap

Respondents expressed high levels of agreement (89%) with the four principles to account for in development of new targets (Achieving net zero by 2045; Reducing the material footprint of our resources and waste; Maximising the value of our circular economy; Alignment with the EU).^[205]

Our response: What we will do

It is clear from the response to the 2022 consultation, and through recent recommendations from the Climate Change Committee^[206], that there is broad support for a new suite of indicators to track Scotland’s progress in moving to a circular economy, aligned to our efforts to tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

We will set new circular economy targets from 2025, with work to develop this monitoring framework across 2024-25, drawing on existing evidence and progressing further research as required. The targets will cover the period to 2030 as a minimum.

It is our view that a robust, accountable monitoring framework, linked to the future circular economy strategy (see priority action 1) and set within the context of Scotland’s wider economic and environmental strategic landscape (including our Environment Strategy^[207]), is now a vital component in delivering a circular economy.

Our current 2025 waste and recycling targets are important milestones, but should not be the end destination. In some cases, our waste and recycling targets are not universally the best indicators to deliver our circular economy objectives. For example, many of our existing targets are weight-based, and do not specifically measure emissions reduction or other environmental impacts. The measures set out in the draft Route Map are focused on the actions we must take to accelerate progress, setting the framework for the required transformational change in how we manage our resources across our economy and society in the years ahead. New circular economy targets can help us make this transition.

The provisions in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill^[208], if passed, will give Scottish Ministers enabling powers to set statutory circular economy targets where appropriate. This could include reducing the use of materials, increasing reuse, increasing recycling and linking to priorities within the circular economy strategy. The development of targets will also give explicit consideration to material-specific targets, rather than ‘catch-all’ indicators, as recommended by the CCC, to provide a more powerful, targeted approach for the challenges we face today.^[209]

The bigger picture: Making an impact

• Long-term view: A statutory circular economy strategy will provide a framework to deliver progress and maximise impact with a strategic longer-term view.
• Achieving coordinated cumulative impact: Ensuring the sum of our coordinated actions is greater than the individual parts, rigorously identifying the interdependencies between multiple actions, and ensuring the right blend of support is in place to drive a circular economy. To underpin this, we intend to refresh our governance structures to ensure they are fit for the future, drive the circular economy transformation to 2030, and enable a Team Scotland approach.
• Monitoring role: Monitoring the development of a circular economy, enabling robust evaluation of progress and evidence for future actions, while new targets and indicators will help ensure we are accountable in demonstrating that Route Map measures individually and cumulatively contribute to progress.

• National and local strategic coordination: Accounting for how any new national targets translate to local strategies and targets. For example, how the statutory recycling and reuse code of practice and local recycling targets connect to packaging extended producer responsibility scheme material targets, and national recycling and reuse targets. Providing a clear throughline to our wider strategic goals, including our commitment to reduce emissions.

Actions to tackle Scotland’s global footprint

As set out in Scotland’s Environment Strategy, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Scotland plays its part in tackling the climate and nature emergencies. As part of this effort, we want to both understand - and minimise - our overseas carbon and wider environmental impact, as Scotland’s current demand on nature far exceeds its capacity to supply. Sustainable consumption, production and resource use are essential for Scotland’s just transition to a net zero, nature positive economy, but they also alleviate pressures on the natural world and its finite resources globally, reducing the demand for raw materials. All of the measures in this Route Map are designed to support Scotland’s efforts to take responsibility for our global impact. Key examples include:

1) Targeting products and materials: Measures are designed to reduce demand for raw materials for the production of goods, through promoting reuse and repair, and encouraging sustainable product design and production, resource efficiency and responsible consumption. For example, textiles account for nearly a third (32%) of the carbon impact of household waste^[210]. Reduce and reuse measures like product stewardship can help break up the fast fashion cycle, supporting the development of circular supply chains in Scotland, reducing the quantity of clothing and textiles that need to be produced from virgin materials and the wider environmental impacts of textile production in other countries (e.g. reducing land and water use). The new co-designed Code of Practice for household waste and recycling can help reduce emissions in waste by considering ways to prevent materials like textiles and clothing going to disposal.

2) Tracking our global footprint: Scotland's Carbon Footprint highlights the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the spending of Scottish residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise.^[211] Later in 2024, Zero Waste Scotland will publish the first outputs from a new Scottish Waste Environmental Footprint Tool, which will provide further insights on the full lifecycle climate and wider environmental impacts of Scotland’s waste. The Scottish Material Flow Accounts (MFA)^[212] helps to understand the scale and nature of Scotland’s consumption.

3) Focusing on food waste: An estimated one third of food produced globally for human consumption is wasted. The emissions linked with global food waste is estimated to be 6% of global emissions^[213]. Food waste causes inefficient use of resources linked to the production, transportation, distribution and preparation of food, including demands on ecosystems. This underlines the importance of reducing food waste here in Scotland across all sectors and households. The measures in this Route Map, such as mandatory public reporting of food waste and surplus, work to support food redistribution, and behaviour change at a household level will all drive this.

4) The role of public procurement: Procurement is a further key lever to help reduce environmental and carbon footprints. We will continue to embed climate considerations in our procurements and supply chains, underpinning the sustainable procurement duty and progressive policy on climate and circular economy considerations, and to promote and develop our Sustainable Procurement Tools to support the wider public sector in procuring sustainably. See ‘Further actions to 2030’ below for more on this.

5) Maximising the value of our resources, taking responsibility for our waste: To support our transition to a circular economy and reduce Scotland’s global carbon impact, we must take responsibility for our own waste, managing and processing as much as possible here in Scotland. A large majority of Scotland's waste is already managed within Scotland, but around 15% is currently processed elsewhere, representing a lost economic opportunity and an environmental cost too. Measures within Modernise recycling and Decarbonise disposal are focused on tackling this. The recycling co-design processes will look at the available markets and reprocessing capacity for collected materials, and opportunities to facilitate this; and existing measures in train like extended producer responsibility schemes will provide greater incentives for domestic reprocessing. To strengthen public confidence in where recycling goes, we will also be consulting on the introduction of end destination public reporting of household recycling collected.

6) Waste exports and wider trade policy: International waste export legislation is a reserved matter for the UK Government, and we are working with the UK Government to support the delivery of its existing commitment to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries. We continue to urge the UK government to go further and to ban the export of plastic waste from the UK to all countries, and consider further targeted restrictions around other materials, in line with the Climate Change Committee's call to "phase out" exports of waste by 2030. More broadly, trade has a role to play in reducing overseas environmental impacts. Key levers are reserved to the UK Government, but the Scottish Government’s Vision for Trade^[214], published in January 2021, commits to using Scotland’s influence to improve multilateral trading systems, dispute settlements and other trade mechanisms, so that they support the global effort to deliver better climate and development outcomes.

Further actions to 2030

Building on these priority actions, we will seek to progress further strategic actions up to 2030, to maximise impact of our circular economy measures, tackle cross-cutting areas to support progress across the waste hierarchy, and contribute to robust monitoring and evaluation of progress. These actions are centred around three cross-cutting themes. These are:

• Research, data and evidence
• Sustainable procurement
• Skills and training

While other chapters in this Route Map outline specific actions, this section brings together the high-level strategic approach and actions we will seek to take under each theme up to 2030. We recognise that some actions are not for government alone to deliver, and that these proposals will be subject to the outcomes of current and future spending allocations, availability of Parliamentary time and support, and further research where relevant to develop or explore.

2022 Consultation response

Almost all consultation respondents agreed with the proposed cross cutting measures.^[215]

Research, evidence and data

Research and innovation must sit at the heart of our circular economy - we must learn by doing, be open to new and innovative ideas, understand the costs and benefits of taking action, measure how we are doing, and continue to test new solutions. The following actions between now and 2030 can help us achieve this:

1. Review and refresh Scotland’s Waste Data Strategy’s action plan ^[216] .

Scotland’s waste strategy has been developed and implemented in partnership across Scottish Government, SEPA, Zero Waste Scotland, with key input from the commercial, public and third sectors. It has supported key data and evidence developments in Scotland since 2017, which have fundamentally improved our collective understanding of how materials move around the economy, and have supported the decision-making required to reduce emissions and drive delivery on existing waste and recycling targets. Key successes include development of the Scottish household waste composition analysis, supporting the Scottish Material Flow Accounts (MFA)^[217] to better understand Scotland’s raw material footprint, and support for practical design and delivery of the UK-wide digital waste tracking service, in partnership with the other UK governments and agencies.

Across this Route Map we have a range of measures that rely on timely data and evidence to maximise delivery of meaningful benefits. To ensure this happens, and we have a data landscape that remains fit for the future, we will work closely with partners to review and refresh the strategy and its action plan. Given the transformational changes being brought forward through this Route Map and the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, we intend to undertake this work in coordination with the development of a new monitoring framework for Scotland’s circular economy, and emission reduction-related monitoring requirements. We will also account for the changes to the data landscape that key measures like extended producer responsibility schemes, modernising recycling reform, and the digital waste tracking service, will have.

2. Maintain a programme of research on waste prevention, behaviour change, fiscal incentives and material-specific priorities.

The research package we have published alongside our draft Route Map has provided invaluable insights and given us the confidence to set the Route Map’s priorities. Building on this is vital, and across this document, we highlight undertaking further research as a key step towards the delivery of many of our priority measures. There are key cross-cutting themes, notably behaviour change, and it will be important to maintain a strategic view of our research to ensure we maximise benefits across all of our strategic aims. This includes understanding how international examples of best practice can be applied in Scotland, and the readiness of new approaches and technologies to be rolled out at scale. This will build on the considerable body of work that already exists, and in the spirit of collaboration and partnership, we remain committed to working with partners in academia, the public sector, the private sector, social enterprises, and NGOs to shape research, share learning and develop evidence-based policies and best practice.

Sustainable Procurement

3. Develop public procurement opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of public spending, including scoping new legislative circular economy requirements for contracting authorities under section 82 and 82A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Procurement enables and defines how we demand products and services, and underpins investment within the private sector to create new business models and products. The Scottish public sector spends more than £14.5 billion a year buying goods, services and works.^[218] This scale of spending can directly help safeguard our environment and resources, and play a direct role in delivering our climate, waste and recycling aims. This purchasing power has the potential to stimulate market development and innovation, and demonstrate leadership across sectors. Across this Route Map there are specific procurement-based measures that can support our strategic aims, including reviewing existing procurement practices in reference to reducing consumption, circular economy and the construction sector. This includes:

• Exploring opportunities to accelerate adoption of climate and circular economy focus through what, how and how much public bodies buy from 2024. The sustainable procurement duty in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 aligns with our aim to reduce unnecessary consumption of goods and materials by requiring public bodies to consider improvements for the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area in which they operate. To maximise opportunities for a circular economy it requires a whole systems approach where local leaders work with procurement, finance and service delivery managers to make informed choices. We will review existing practice within public bodies, assessing amendments to guidance and resources to facilitate uptake, and create a series of case studies which demonstrate in practical terms what is being achieved.
• Analysis of market information and spend data to identify areas where regulations under section 82 and 82A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009^[219] could enhance circular economy opportunities in relation to the procurement of goods, works or services. These powers allow Ministers to make regulations that require contracting authorities to purchase goods with recycled content, recycled products or recyclable products. We will commission research to identify potential candidate products for these regulations from 2024/25.
• Additionally, we will further promote and develop the Scottish Government's Sustainable Procurement Tools, ^[220] which are a range of free tools to support public sector procurers to purchase sustainably with a focus on climate and circular economy obligations.

Skills and training

4. Support greater uptake of green skills, training, and development opportunities.

Skills and training opportunities run through the heart of the measures proposed through this Route Map. Around 1 in 10 jobs in Scotland relate to the Circular Economy^[221]. The transition to a circular economy provides a wealth of opportunities to transform our labour market, creating both high quality and entry level jobs and roles, in areas with persistently high unemployment. 10,000 tonnes of waste can create up to 296 jobs in repair and reuse, compared to 1 job in incineration, 6 jobs in landfill or 36 jobs in recycling.^[222] To realise these benefits, we need to ensure that our education and skills systems will prepare the current and future workforce for a just transition to a fully circular economy.

We will continue to contribute to the updated Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan^[223] (CESAP) to ensure circular economy principles are embedded across provision in the education and skills system. Through CESAP and other strategies such as the upcoming Green Industrial Strategy and Just Transition Plans, we will focus on the sectors with high potential for growth, identify emerging employment opportunities and education and training provision to design and deliver activities that maximise the potential for skills development and education for a circular economy. As part of a systems approach, to create a solid foundation we must ensure knowledge building of circular economy is embedded across the whole education and skills landscape. The delivery of skills to support the jobs and roles of a circular economy will include:

• Utilise the cross-cutting collaboration of the CESAP Implementation Steering Group to promote awareness of skills pathways, especially to young people; strengthen collaboration between industry and the education and skills system; and develop clear upskilling and reskilling requirements.
• Support the education and skills reform agenda including the national skills planning function to be established by the Scottish Government.
• Support career long professional learning (CLPL) opportunities for educators and practitioners with a focus on circular economy.
• Continue to host and deliver the Green Internship Scheme^[224] to upskill young workforce on circular economy and net zero whilst supporting employment opportunities.
• Development and delivery of the Circular Economy Sustainable Retrofit Training Programme^[225] to embed best practice and ensure skills and performance gaps are addressed.
• Engage with circular economy business support and the wider ecosystem to support circular skills and competencies to generate capacity and capability of businesses to deliver circular economy business models.
• Track circular jobs in Scotland and raise awareness and recognition of circular and enabling jobs to support the transition to a circular economy.

Click here to preview an infographic showing the Route Map Strategic Aims in full.

Consultation questions

Question 7: To what extent do you agree with the priority actions proposed within the Strengthen the circular economy strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 8: To what extent do you agree with the further actions to 2030 listed across the Strengthen the circular economy strategic aim? Please provide evidence to support your answer if possible.

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]