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The Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan, published in 2010, set out targets to recycle 70% of all waste by 2025 and 60% of household waste by 2020.

Scotland has made significant progress in reducing waste, increasing recycling and decarbonising the waste sector, but there is further work to be done. The overall recycling rate in Scotland of 62.3% in 2022 is at its highest level since records began in 2011. In 2022 the household recycling rate was 43.3%.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act, passed unanimously in June 2024, includes our commitment to determine new circular economy targets for Scotland from 2025, to support our work to reduce emissions to tackle the climate emergency.

The approval, construction and installation of Solar photovoltaic projects over 150kW is monitored through the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). Information is provided both as a spreadsheet and as an interactive map which provides the location and capacity of all renewable energy projects within the planning system.

Renewable Energy Planning Database | DESNZ & Barbour ABI (barbour-abi.com)

The electricity capacity and generation provided by all grid-connected renewable projects is monitored through UK Renewables Energy Trends.

Energy Trends: UK renewables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Both these data sources are updated on a quarterly basis and summary data is provided within Scotland's quarterly energy statistics publication.

Quarterly energy statistics Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Details of all small-scale renewable energy installations in the UK are available from the MCS data dashboard

About the MCS Data Dashboard - MCS (mcscertified.com)

To support future planning decisions, we accepted the review’s recommendation to develop an indicative capacity cap. It is important that any indicative cap is as robust as possible and developing such a cap is a significant piece of work.

For that reason, we are undertaking work to improve the quality of data on waste to support the development of an indicative cap. This includes, working with other governments of the UK to implement mandatory Digital Waste Tracking from April 2025, which will provide a step-change in the quality of Scottish waste data, and engaging with partners, including ZWS and SEPA, to draw together key waste composition, carbon and environmental impact data insights.

Together, these initiatives will provide invaluable data to support the accurate forecasting of Scotland’s waste infrastructure needs and the development of an indicative cap. Further information on these developments can be found here:

Digital Waste Tracking Consultation Response.

Outcome of the Household Waste Composition Analysis.

Our draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, published 18 January 2024, set out further detail and associated timescales on the steps we will take to minimise the environmental and climate impacts of waste, including the development of an indicative capacity cap.

Two incineration facilities, both of which already held planning permission at the time of the incineration review, have become operational since June 2022.

These facilities have permitted capacities of 270,000 and 150,000 tonnes per annum but their operational capacity is likely to be less. For example, data available through SEPA’s ‘waste sites and capacity tool’ shows facilities typically operate at less than their permitted capacity.

The Scottish Government does not hold any data on the area of renewable energy projects, as described.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes a quarterly Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD)[1] that lists renewable energy projects at the following stages: inception, planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning. This dataset is limited geographically, in that it provides a single grid reference point for a site. And while it does provide significant data on the planning, commissioning and construction of the site, it provides no information on the area covered - as indicated in this interactive map[2].

Prime land for agriculture is defined by the James Hutton Institute’s Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) measure[3]. LCA 1 to 3.1 is considered ‘prime’ land suitable for arable production. LCA 3.2 to 7 ranges from land considered suitable for mixed agriculture through to land suitable for various types of grazing.

It is possible to plot renewable energy project sites in relation to land capability for agriculture, but such analysis only gives the number of sites registered on prime agricultural and other agricultural land, not the specific locations of the infrastructure and the areas involved. The Scottish Government has explored this for ground mount solar and onshore wind using 2022 data. For operational onshore wind and ground mount solar the number of sites on different types of land and their generation capacity is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Onshore Wind and Ground Mount Solar by Land Type, 2022 1

Scottish Water engages extensively with academia and the private sector to explore the potential for new recovery solutions. As examples Scottish Water is:

1.Working in partnership with the Hydro Nation Chair and Glasgow Caledonian University to investigate advanced technologies for energy recovery solutions from wastewater.

2.Currently designing a resource recovery factory in Alloa with links to the Hydro Nation Chair, Glasgow Caledonian University, the James Hutton Institute and Forth Valley College.

3.Working with the private sector on the trial of ammonia recovery at Cumnock Wastewater Treatment Works, exploration into the use of recovered ammonia as a fertiliser and, phosphorous recovery.

Local authorities are responsible for service provision at household waste recycling centres, and for any decisions regarding any expansion of reuse options. The Scottish Government has, through the Recycling Improvement Fund, supported projects led by Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Stirling Councils to improve reuse at household waste recycling centres. This includes setup of a reuse shop and enhancing on-site facilities to enable storage of reuse items. In addition, guidance was published by Zero Waste Scotland in June 2024 to help local authorities move to a reuse first approach at Household Waste Recycling Centres. The guidance, Making reuse happen at Household Waste Recycling Centres: Guidance for local authorities, is available on the Zero Waste Scotland website: mf-kq5rq09l-1720088177d (zerowastescotland.org.uk).

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 requires Scottish Ministers to prepare a circular economy strategy. In preparing the strategy Scottish Ministers must have regard to the waste hierarchy, including preparing for reuse.

In addition, a new statutory Household Recycling Code of Practice, which will be co-designed with local authorities and other stakeholders, will set out standards expected of, and steps to be taken by, local authorities in carrying out their waste management functions in so far as they relate to the collection and recycling (including preparation for reuse) of household waste. The co-design process may also create an opportunity to agree that information is provided to householders about reuse and repair opportunities in their area. However, the new Code could not prescribe mandatory requirements for reuse or repair services as these do not fall within local authority statutory waste management functions.

Creative Scotland, in its role of supporting the growth of sustainable creative businesses in Scotland, has an explicit focus on environmental sustainability. This is detailed in their 2022 A Climate Emergency and Sustainability Plan for Creative Scotland | Creative Scotland and subsequent annual reviews, Environmental Sustainability Review 2023/24 | Creative Scotland as well as in the detailed guidance in the form of funding criteria Environmental Sustainability | Creative Scotland that is employed in assessing applicants to its Grant-in-Aid and National Lottery funds.

The design sector, as defined by Scottish Government, reported GVA of £570.8m in 2022, but its impact and benefits are often overlooked. In response to this, Creative Scotland and V&A Dundee have been working together under the banner of ‘Design for Scotland’ to progress a project involving the design community responding to a call to action of ‘Ask not what Scotland can do for Design, but what Design can do for Scotland’. This has included consideration of the environmental impact of design.

In Scotland, we benefit from excellent design education in our colleges and Universities. Per head of population, Scotland has more of its art and design schools in the global top 100 ranking Universities than any other European country.

Furthermore, Architecture and Design Scotland helps support the design of sustainable buildings and places in Scotland, including with local authorities, agencies, stakeholders and communities to address environmental impacts of the built environment and promote positive environmental outcomes.

We can be confident that both the Design community and the structures that support them are looking forward to ensuring that their skills and aspirations are fully employed in ensuring that environmental impact is at the heart of the design process in Scotland.

The Climate Change Committee were not consulted in advance of the savings in Net Zero and Energy portfolio set out in the Fiscal Statement on 3 September 2024. There is no legislative requirement for Ministers to seek such advice and it is not common practice to do so. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out when Scottish Ministers must request advice from the CCC as well as when Scottish Ministers must have regard to CCC advice. There is no requirement on Ministers to ask the CCC for advice in relation to financial budgets.