Creating a circular economy - we need more action to reduce consumption and increase reuse

We have today submitted our response to the Scottish Government’s Draft Circular Economy Strategy consultation.

While we believe there are some very positive inclusions laid out in it, there is real opportunity to review and strengthen it to ensure that people and nature of Scotland are put before pure economic growth. 

Our planet is facing three main ecological crises – climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and litter pollution. All of these share a common underlying cause – our over consumption of natural resources. We must reduce resource consumption if we are to progress towards environmental and ecological sustainability. 

We do not believe that this strategy goes far enough in ensuring single-use products are replaced with reusable options, or that reuse and repair is prioritised enough. We also don’t believe that the Strategy is clear about how its impact will be quantified or measured, and would call for targets to reduce consumption, at least to within planetary limits, to be introduced.

We also want to see:

• A genuine commitment to reduce consumption of materials to ensure a true circular economy.
• An ambitious Extended Producer Responsibility programme, including addressing littered single-use packaging items to drive and incentivise producers to reduce waste and redesign products.
• A review of the priority areas to include plastics.
• A realisation that behaviour change must be strongly matched with infrastructure and system changes to support people to do the right thing.  

Additionally, we have flagged up two areas which appear to have dropped in priority and are calling for:

• More urgent action to reduce single-use cup consumption and take the once in a lifetime opportunity to introduce a charge that will support efforts to change behaviours, shift consumption habits and promote individual responsibility, and
• The introduction of civil penalties for littering from vehicles to support action to tackle roadside litter which is a persistent and highly visible problem that is difficult, dangerous and costly to clean up.

Barry Fisher, our CEO, commented: “We welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Circular Economy Strategy consultation and have raised a number of concerns about the detail, the lack of focus on reuse and the absence of a plan to tackle plastic at source. There is a massive opportunity ahead, and with the proper investment and education put in place, Scotland could have a much more circular economy where everything we make, buy, use and throw away is considered.

“But, fundamentally people need to understand their own consumption habits now. We all need to consider what we buy and what the lifespan of those items is, and we need to know where to look locally, nationally and internationally for support to tackle food waste, reduce packaging waste and access share and repair networks.

“We are ready now to offer people across Scotland the opportunity to attend training and workshops to support them identify positive actions they could take to reduce their consumption and combat climate change.”

Find out more about our training opportunities here.