On 25th March, Scottish Government launched a consultation on potential changes to its approach to household recycling collection services.

In recognition that the ‘linear’ model of resource use contributes greatly to the current climate and nature crises, Scottish Government has committed to support the transition to a more circular economy, setting up priority actions for waste and recycling in its Circular Economy & Waste Route Map. The Circular Economy & Waste Route Map specifies the co-design of a new, mandatory household recycling Code of Practice, which will lead to more consistent services in Scotland. Scottish Government is in the early stages of this co-design process and the feedback from this consultation may inform further co-design work and/or other policy changes to help Scotland’s transition to a more circular economy.

Specifically, this consultation seeks views in relation to two areas:

• The current approach to the rural food waste exemption and whether that should continue in its current form, be amended or be discontinued.
• The approach to textile recycling, including whether to make kerbside collection of textiles by local authorities a mandatory service.

Rural Food Waste Exemption

In relation to the first of these two topics–likely of greater relevance to Organics Members–the Rural Food Waste Exemption permits local authorities not to follow the requirement to provide a receptacle for separate collection of food waste if properties are located in areas designated as ‘remote small towns’, ‘accessible rural areas’ or ‘remote rural areas’. It was designed to prevent the positive impact of food waste recycling being offset by negative impacts of collecting and transporting waste from rural locations. However, the households eligible for this exemption are determined based on potentially outdated classifications from 2009-2010. If the more current 2022 classification data were used, fewer postcodes would be eligible for the exemption. Additionally, as of early 2020, an analysis found that several Local Authorities who are eligible for the exemption have determined to still provide segregated food waste collection where economically viable (e.g. Aberdeenshire, South Ayrshire and Stirling).

Through this consultation, Scottish Government seeks views to help inform its decision on whether or not to keep the rural food waste exemption unaltered, amend it to include or exclude additional areas by various means, such as updating to the 2020 urban/rural classification, or remove it entirely.

Responding to the Consultation

Read the full consultation here. The deadline for responses is 17th June. Please forward and comments or feedback to inform the REA response to Megan ([email protected]) by 3rd June.