Scottish Climate Change Bill

The Scottish Government has published its Climate Change Bill which sets out a framework for reducing Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

The Bill includes a number of provisions relevant to waste management, and although precise requirements will be defined through secondary legislation, the Bill allows for:

- preparation of waste prevention and management plans
- provision of more reliable data to SEPA on waste arisings
- more facilities for the deposit of waste prior to collection for recycling
- green procurement, in which procurement or construction projects should include a certain proportion of recyclate
- targetsfor reducing packaging waste
- deposit and return schemes for a range of specified materials, and
- charging for carrier bags.

Commenting on the Bill, SESA pressed for greater consistency with the recently adopted EU Waste Framework Directive, which clearly distinguishes between recycling and other waste recovery.