Circular economy and waste route map to 2030: strategic environmental assessment - environmental report

1 Non-technical Summary

1.1 Introduction to the Route Map

The Scottish Government is committed to moving towards a circular economy and playing its part to tackle the climate emergency. A circular economy, based on sustainable consumption and production, is essential to power Scotland’s transition to a fair, green and sustainable economy, and critical to meeting our obligations to tackle the twin climate and nature emergencies. Material consumption and waste are primary drivers of nearly every environmental problem Scotland currently faces, from water scarcity to habitat and species loss.

Founded on evidence and collaboration, the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map is part of the Scottish Government’s wider response to these challenges. It is designed to drive progress on three key fronts:

1. Setting the strategic direction and laying foundations for how we will deliver our system-wide, comprehensive vision for Scotland’s circular economy from now to 2030.

2. Setting out priority actions from now to 2030 to accelerate more sustainable use of our resources across the waste hierarchy.

3. Reducing emissions associated with resources and waste.

In 2022, the Scottish Government set out a range of proposals across the resources and waste system through its first Route Map consultation. The consultation sought views on the feasibility and ambition of these proposals in order to drive progress against 2025 waste and recycling targets, and to achieve the long term goal of net zero by 2045. Earlier in 2023, the analysis of responses to this consultation was published.

Building on the first consultation, the Scottish Government has now published a draft Route Map, which seeks to prioritise and focus on the key actions that will unlock progress across the waste hierarchy to 2030. Through a second consultation on the draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, the Scottish Government is inviting views on these priorities, before the Route Map is finalised later in 2024.

Proposals are grouped into four strategic themes which span action across the whole circular economy:

• Reduce and reuse;
• Modernise recycling;
• Decarbonise disposal;
• Strengthen the Circular Economy.

1.2 What is Strategic Environmental Assessment?

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a statutory requirement under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’), to assess the likely significant environmental effects that a public plan, programme, or strategy (PPS) will have on the environment if implemented. The process identifies how adverse environmental effects can be avoided, minimised, reduced or mitigated and how any positive effects can be enhanced. It also allows the public to give their view on the programme and its potential environmental impacts.

SEA comprises the following key stages:

1. Screening – determining whether a Plan/Programme/Strategy (in this instance, the Circular Economy Route Map) requires an SEA.

2. Scoping – establishing the scope and approach of the SEA, including the initial environmental topics to include, the context (a review of other plans, programmes, and strategies and the environmental baseline), and the assessment methodology, with the information presented in a Scoping Report, which is subject to a 5-week consultation.

3. Environmental Assessment – identifying, describing, and assessing the likely significant effects of the proposed measures.

4. Environmental Report – outlining the findings from the environmental assessment, consistent with the requirements of Schedule 3 of the 2005 Act.

5. Main consultation – consulting on the draft and Environmental Report;

6. Post Adoption Statement (PAS) – producing a statement to outline how the assessment and consultation responses have been considered within the finalised plan.

7. Monitoring – monitoring the effects of implementation.

A combined SEA screening and scoping report for the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map was submitted to statutory consultees for consultation on 16 November 2022. The SEA approach has been amended where appropriate in response to the comments received. This scoping consultation comments and responses are documented in Appendix B.

1.3 How have the environmental effects of the Route Map been assessed?

Each of the overarching themes in the Route Map has been analysed to identify and evaluate the likely significant effects that could arise from the implementation of the measures proposed within them. The effects of the Route Map have been considered with respect to the following topic areas that have been scoped into the SEA following the scoping stage:

• Biodiversity, flora, and fauna;
• Population and human health;
• Soil;
• Water;
• Air;
• Climatic Factors;
• Material Assets;
• Landscape and visual impacts; and
• Cultural heritage and the historic environment.

The first Route Map consultation document grouped measures into six packages:

• Promote responsible consumption, production, and reuse;
• Reduce food waste;
• Embed circular construction practices;
• Improve recycling from households;
• Improve recycling from commercial businesses; and
• Minimise the impact of disposal.

The measures contained within these six packages now sit within four overarching strategic aims:

• Reduce and reuse;
• Modernise recycling; and
• Decarbonise disposal;
• Strengthen the Circular Economy.

Given the broad nature of the strategies, this SEA has been undertaken as a high level assessment of the likely environmental impacts of the Route Map at a thematic level.

The proposals in the draft Route Map have been assessed against the SEA assessment questions set out below for each environmental topic:

Biodiversity, flora, fauna

• Will the plan avoid adverse impacts to habitats and species?
• Will it protect, maintain, and enhance biodiversity?

Population and human health

• Will the plan reduce the health gap and inequalities and improve healthy life expectancy?
• Will it protect and improve human health and wellbeing through improving the quality of the living environment of people and communities?
• Will it increase sustainable access to essential services, employment, and the natural and historic environment?

Soil

• Will the plan safeguard and improve soil quality, quantity, and function in Scotland, particularly high value agricultural land and carbon-rich soils?

Water

• Will the plan ensure the sustainable use of water resources?
• Will it help to reduce levels of water pollution?

Air

• Will the plan avoid adverse impacts to air quality?
• Will it reduce emissions of key pollutants and improve air quality throughout Scotland?
• Will it reduce levels of nuisance e.g., noise, vibration, dust, odour, and light?

Climate factors

• Will the plan help to reduce existing and avoid new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions?

Material assets

• Will it reduce use and promote sustainable management of natural resources?
• Will it reduce ‘leakage’ of material to landfill or energy recovery or as litter?

Landscape and visual impacts

• Will the plan avoid adverse effects on landscapes and visual impacts?
• Will it safeguard and enhance the character and diversity of the Scottish landscape and areas of valuable landscape and geodiversity?

Cultural heritage and the historic environment

• Will it avoid adverse impacts on the historic environment including its setting?
• Will it protect and enhance valued landscapes, historic and archaeological sites and other culturally and historically important features, landscapes, and their settings?
• Will it encourage the retention, reuse and repair of historic environment assets and materials?

1.4 What are the likely significant environmental effects of the proposed Route Map?

Subject to the practical implementation of what are recognised to be high level visions, aims, and actions for delivering a circular economy in Scotland, the assessment has found that the proposals in the Route Map have the potential to cause positive environmental effects across all of the impact categories assessed:

• Biodiversity, flora, and fauna;
• Population and human health;
• Soil;
• Water;
• Air;
• Climatic factors;
• Material assets;
• Cultural heritage and the historic environment; and
• Landscape and visual assets.

It is anticipated that by reducing demand for new products and virgin materials and driving down the amount of material disposed of via landfill and energy from waste, a range of negative pollution impacts on biodiversity, air, bodies of water, and soils can be avoided. Greenhouse gas emissions from material production and manufacturing processes as well as waste management activities are expected to be minimised, with material assets being kept in use for as long as possible through circular practices and improved recycling. Indirect positive impacts are anticipated in relation to the Scottish landscape, through reduced demand for unsightly disposal and extraction infrastructure and the potential to reduce litter and flytipping. Circular practices in the construction and demolition sector should also encourage the retention, reuse and repair of historic environment assets and materials, thus benefitting Scotland’s cultural heritage and historic environment.

The positive impacts of the measures are expected to be partially offset by increased resource use, for example, through increased recycling activity, or additional product or building maintenance. However, this assessment has concluded that none of the themes in the Route Map are anticipated to have a net negative impact on any of the environmental topics assessed.

Table 1 summarises the overall impacts of each of the in-scope strategic themes in the Route Map against the environmental topics considered as part of this assessment. Measures within the ‘Strengthen the Circular Economy theme were scoped out of the assessment and are therefore not included in Table 1. See section 3.2.1 for more information.

Key

+: Only (significant) positive impacts expected.

+/?: Impacts are expected to be mostly positive but may be offset to some extent by potential negative impacts.

N/A: No impacts identified

To maximise the potential for positive environmental impacts and to support and enhance the wider aims of the Route Map, it is recommended that all measures are implemented with consideration to alignment with other relevant environmental plans, programmes, and strategies, such as Scotland’s Environment Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy and the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.