Scottish government introduces Circular Economy Bill ’empowering’ councils

The bill was introduced yesterday (13 June) and will give ministers powers to set out rules to create a circular economy, including the banning of the disposal of unsold goods to “prevent good products in landfill” and placing charges on single use items like coffee cups.

Other measures outlined by the Scottish government include giving ministers the power to:

• Set local recycling targets, building on the experience of Wales, which has the best recycling rate in the UK
• Set statutory targets for delivery of a circular economy to measure progress in reducing waste and the nation’s carbon footprint

Councils

Under the bill, the Scottish government said local authorities will be given additional enforcement powers, allowing them to crack down on flytipping and littering from cars.

The Scottish government will also “work with local authorities to co-design an updated national Code of Practice for household waste recycling, to improve consistency of services and increase the quality and quantity of recycling collected”.

Circular economy minister Lorna Slater said: “The Circular Economy Bill with give local councils and the Scottish government the powers they need to transform our economy and tackle throwaway culture.

“Of course, the best way of tackling waste is to not create it in the first place. There are huge economic opportunities in the circular economy and we have already seen businesses in Scotland creating jobs by turning what we might otherwise throw away into valuable new products and services.

“This legislation will support the growth of more green businesses and community organisations while cutting waste and climate emissions.”

Modernising

The Scottish government says on its website that it hopes that modernising waste and recycling services will help tackle the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis.

“Introducing a circular economy strategy and targets will mean that progress towards reaching a circular economy is monitored,” it added.

Targets

In the bill, it outlined that the measures will help Scottish Government hit its “various ambitious waste and recycling targets”, including ending the landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste, reducing the percentage of all waste sent to landfill to 5%, and recycling 70% of all waste, by 2025.

The bill also explains that the average individual in Scotland consumes 19.3 tonnes of materials every year. “That is not sustainable – as set out in the Scottish Government’s Environment Strategy, if everyone worldwide lived as we do in Scotland we would need three planets to sustain ourselves. In short, the more materials are extracted and used, the more damage is done to the climate and to nature.”