Circular Economy Bill passed unanimously by Scottish Parliament

The Circular Economy Bill was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2024 and became an Act on 8 August 2024.

During the consultation phase of the Bill the Scottish Countryside Alliance responded to questions on:

• Household waste
• Fly-tipping
• A proposed code of practice and local authority targets for household waste and recycling
• Littering from vehicles
• Enforcement powers in respect of certain environmental offences

Our organisation has been actively campaigning for tighter controls on fly tipping and littering from vehicles, which have a detrimental impact on local communities. This is a huge problem across all rural areas of the UK, with 94% of our roadsides being impacted by litter. The Tackling the Litter Emergency report showed that almost 70% of litter was from single-use packaging and wrapping, 
with confectionary packaging topping the list.

Minister for Climate Action Gillian Martin said:

“The measures in the Circular Economy Bill will give local councils and the Scottish Government the powers needed to support the sustainable use of resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions. For people to do the right thing for the planet, it is crucial that everyone experiences a modern, easy to use waste service.”

Some of the key provisions of the Bill included:

• Powers to introduce charges for single-use items (starting with the introduction of a charge for disposal of beverage cups).
• A new criminal offence for a householder to breach their duty of care in relation to household waste, and new fixed penalty regime for that offence.
• Introduction of new enforcement measures around household waste disposal and recycling (fixed penalty and civil penalty charges).
• A new statutory code of practice on household waste recycling.
• Introduction of a new civil penalty charge for littering from a vehicle.
• Powers to enable enforcement authorities to seize and search vehicles to tackle waste crime.

The Bill will increase the maximum fixed penalty charges for fly-tipping offences from £500 to £1,000.  All householders have a duty of care to ensure that they are using a properly registered, legal waste management service to dispose of waste from their property. Householders can check the credentials of waste operatives by a simple check of their registration details on the SEPA website.  

It was recognised during the amendments stage of the Bill that differences between local council areas, in particular, rural areas, should be considered when writing the code of practice for household recycling and waste management. For instance, recycling in rural island communities will have more flexibility within the code of practice.

The affordability of this Bill is also brought into question with current strikes looming by Scottish bin workers in 26 council areas, many of which are in rural areas. Currently, the Scottish Government are declining to help out cash-strapped local councils to resolve this current pay dispute.

Unfortunately, this strike action will only serve to increase the rate of fly-tipping and littering and 
will be a blot on the landscape at the height of the tourist season in Scotland.

Some MSPs are not convinced the Bill goes far enough and there are still question marks over some areas of the Bill. Maurice Golden, MSP said:

“Scotland’s economy is just 1.3% circular and the UK’s 7.5% according to the Circularity Gap Report.

“As a long-term advocate for the circular economy, you can imagine my excitement when the Scottish Government finally announced they would be introducing a Circular Economy Bill.  

“What we got was little more than a glorified waste and litter bill – important issues of course – but hardly the ambition we need to build a sustainable economy and see it thrive.”

We will wait and see what positive changes this new Bill brings, and whether this will truly catapult Scotland into the same league as the Welsh circular economy strategy – Beyond Recycling, which aims to make Wales a zero waste and net zero nation by 2050.  

Useful links for further information: 

• Circular Economy Bill passed - Keep Scotland Beautiful
• Circular Economy Bill passed - ScotGov website