Single-Use Disposable Beverage Cups Charge Strategic Environmental Assessment: Environmental Report

2. Introduction

2.1 Background

A priority in a more circular economy is to avoid unnecessary waste and use fewer resources. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of single-use disposable beverage cups, and it is estimated that 388.7 million single-use disposable beverage cups were placed on the market in Scotland in 2021-22^[6]. This equates to 71 single-use disposable beverage cups per capita per year, one of the highest compared to other nations within the European Union. Within this report it is estimated that around 62% were used for single-use disposable beverage cups for hot beverages and 38% of these were used for cold beverages.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, passed in July 2024, gives Scottish Ministers new powers to require suppliers of single-use items to charge a minimum amount for such items, through the introduction of a new section 87A into the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009^[7], with the policy aim of reducing consumption and therefore reducing the environmental harm caused^[8]. The Scottish Government intends that an early use of such powers will be to introduce a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups. This report is published alongside a consultation document setting out our proposals for how a minimum charge on single-use beverage cups would look. In that document we propose that:

• a charge of at least 25p should apply to all single-use beverage cups when an individual buys a drink of any kind, to maximise coverage and ensure the charge is easily understood;
• the charge will apply regardless of cup material, and therefore would include cups made of biodegradable material or bio-based plastics. While it can be argued that these are more sustainable than traditional plastics, they are still single-use and present their own sustainability challenges including a lack of recycling infrastructure and frequency of littering;
• that there will be a limited number of exemptions based on purpose or setting, for instance when a drink is free, in non-retail hospital and care settings, in schools and when a drink is bought from a vending machine;
• retailers should be able to retain reasonable implementation costs from the charge, in line with the approach taken for the single use carrier bags charge; and
• that net proceeds of the charge should be used for the advancement of environmental protection or improvement, or to any other purposes that may be reasonably regarded as analogous.

This approach aligns with the Scottish Government’s commitment to keep pace with or exceed the EU Directive on single-use plastics (Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive - Directive (EU) 2019/904) where able to do so and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards. Article 4 (consumption reduction) of the Directive requires necessary measures to be taken to achieve an ambitious and sustained reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic cups for beverages (and food containers). Under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, a ban on some of the most problematic items, including single-use cups made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), came into force in Scotland in June 2022^[9].

To support the development of a single-use disposable beverage cups charge the Scottish Government has established the Single-Use Disposable Cups Charge Advisory Group to provide advice and expertise on development of a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups charge^[10]. The Group undertook stakeholder engagement to gain more insight into key issues. Scottish Government has also undertaken further stakeholder engagement to gain more insight into key issues and, through Zero Waste Scotland, commissioned a research paper on ‘Consumption of Single-use Disposable Beverage Cups in Scotland’¹. The paper was published in June 2023 and lays out the single-use disposable beverage cup usage in Scotland, potential impact of a charge as well as international examples of alternative reusable cup schemes.

This builds on the work of the Expert Panel on Environmental Charging and Other Measures (EPECOM) which reported on single-use disposable beverage cups in 2019. The Panel concluded that the evidence showed that: “Environmental charges, notably price-based interventions, have been shown to be effective at reducing consumption and should be considered in tandem with other preventative measures. The Panel believes that a charge is more effective at reducing consumption and increasing reusable cup use.”^[11]

Loss aversion theory shows individuals have a higher sensitivity to potential losses than to gains^[12]. This would mean charging for products has a stronger impact on behaviour change than offering a discount.

The Scottish Government is therefore seeking to make regulations requiring suppliers of beverages in single-use disposable beverage cups to charge a minimum amount for such cups. The policy aim is to reduce the consumption of single-use disposable beverage cups and therefore reduce the environmental harm caused. This will support the overall ambition to tackle our throwaway culture by avoiding unnecessary waste and use fewer resources. This aligns with a wider ambition to promote reusable alternatives as part of the shift towards a circular economy in Scotland.

The planned charge on single-use disposable beverage cups forms part of a suite of measures being taken forward by the Scottish Government to reduce our reliance on single-use items, including the implementation of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 in June 2022 and an increase to the charge placed on single use carrier bags.

In 2022, the Government and Devolved Administrations committed to introduce a UK-wide mandatory takeback requirement for fibre-based composite cups through Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). Mandatory takeback would require sellers of filled fibre-based composite cups that employ 10 or more full time equivalents (FTEs) s to provide for the separate collection of used cups (either generated in-store or consumed 'on-the-go').

This policy would be a complementary measure to the cups charge and help achieve circular economy goals. As outlined in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill Policy Memorandum^[13], charging for single-use disposable beverage cups is expected to reduce consumption of single-use disposable beverage cups, promoting behavioural change and moving consumers to reusable alternatives. Mandatory takeback would help improve the recycling of remaining fibre-based single-use disposable beverage cups.

2.2 What is strategic environmental assessment?

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a statutory requirement under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005^[14] (‘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 proposed charge on single-use disposable beverage cups) requires an SEA. The screening report was issued to statutory consultees on 30 November 2023.

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 five-week consultation. The scoping report was issued to statutory consultees on 30 November 2023. An extended consultation period ran until 18 January 2024.

3. Environmental assessment: identifying, describing, and assessing the likely significant effects of the proposed charge.

4. Environmental report: outlining the findings from the environmental assessment, consistent with the requirements of Schedule 3 of the 2005 Act. This report is the environmental report.

5. Main consultation: consulting on the draft policy alongside the 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. This will be produced once the final version of the policy has been agreed and adopted.

7. Monitoring: monitoring the effects of implementation. This will be an ongoing exercise to determine the impacts of the charge evaluate its success in achieving its aims.

The SEA approach has been amended where appropriate in response to the comments received from statutory consultees during the consultation period on the combined screening and scoping reports. A summary of the responses received and corresponding actions taken is set out in Appendix A: Addressing responses from consultative authorities.