Decarbonisation of residual waste infrastructure: report

9 Annex C – Policy Context

In conducting the analysis and considering its recommendations, the Review considered the relevant policy landscape. Relevant policies were summarised in Annex B of Stop, Sort, Bury, Burn? This summary noted that the Scottish Government also intends to develop a route map to achieve its waste and recycling targets and how the waste and resources sector will contribute towards net zero up to 2030 and beyond²¹. The Scottish Government’s targets related to resources and waste for 2025, include:

• Reducing the amount of waste produced by 15% compared to 2011 levels
• Reducing food waste by one third by 2025 (against a 2013) baseline, supported by the Food Waste Reduction Action Plan.
• recycling 70% of all waste by the same year
• ending the practice of landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) and
• Landfilling less than 5% of remaining waste.

Since publication of Stop, Sort, Bury, Burn? The Scottish Government has consulted on the proposed priorities and actions for the Route Map to 2025 and Beyond^[74], which includes policies relevant to the decarbonisation of the residual waste sector.

In relation to residual waste specifically, the Route Map to 2025 and Beyond notes ongoing work, including:

• The ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste coming into force from 31 December 2025;
• Extending the ban to include biodegradable non-municipal wastes;
• Publication of a review of biostabilisation of waste commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland; and
• Expanding the existing landfill gas capture programme.

The further work on residual waste proposed in the consultation on the Route Map to 2025 and Beyond, include:

• Developing a residual waste plan, which encompasses a range of proposed policies such as:
  • exploring options to use Scottish Landfill Tax and the Aggregates Levy, separately or jointly, to drive further recycling and develop secondary markets;
  • researching potential uses and treatment options for alternative pathways for sorting residues; and
  • investment to transition to lower emission residual treatment options;
• Facilitating the development of a sector-led plan by 2024 to restrict the carbon impacts of incineration; and
• investigating further fiscal measures to incentivise low-carbon disposal, which includes proposals to investigate the potential of an incineration tax and inclusion of energy from waste within the scope of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

Beyond residual waste, there are proposals for new policies further up the waste hierarchy, including:

• to reduce waste, including continuing to support food redistribution in Scotland. in 2022, introduce a charge for single-use disposable cups
• to improve recycling from households, such as co-designing high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services with households
• to improve recycling from commercial businesses, such as co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provision and researching and piloting commercial waste zoning approaches.

The consultation on the Route Map to 2025 and Beyond is part of a twin consultation alongside the development of a Circular Economy Bill expected to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament this parliamentary session.

Beyond waste policy, the UK and Scottish Governments have been developing further regulations and policies to address barriers and support the development of heat networks (Including the Scottish Government’s Energy Strategy in 2017, National Planning Framework 4 (2021 draft) and the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and associated regulations)^[17].