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The Electronic Duty of Care (edoc) system has been operational since January 2014.

We are taking forward the commitment to move towards the use of a mandatory system for waste monitoring as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

Of the 32 local authorities across Scotland, 31 have signed up to the voluntary Household Recycling Charter, Edinburgh City Council has not yet signed up. So far, 9 councils have fully aligned their services with the Code of Practice, these are: Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Fife, Moray, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, and Stirling.

Over and above the local government finance settlement, between 2015 – 2019 the Scottish Government provided around £8 million through Zero Waste Scotland to support local authorities in aligning their services with the Household Recycling Charter Code of Practice.

In March, we launched a £70 million recycling improvement fund to support improvements in local authority recycling infrastructure. One of the objectives of the fund is to Support Local Authorities with aligning their services to the Code of Practice which accompanies the Household Recycling Charter.

The Electronic Duty of Care (edoc) system has been operational since January 2014 and was the result of a 4 year, multi-agency project. These project costs are not held centrally. The project was funded through the EU’s LIFE+ environment programme and led by the Environment Agency.

We are taking forward the commitment to move towards the use of a mandatory system for waste monitoring as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

A joint consultation on the implementation of a mandatory electronic waste tracking system is planned for autumn on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory electronic waste tracking should be implemented, including the types of waste that should be included. Accurate costs and staffing hours for this multi-agency project are not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is currently working with Zero Waste Scotland, COSLA and an Advisory Group, comprising local authority Waste Managers, to review the Code of Practice that accompanies the Household Recycling Charter. One of the aims of the review is to ensure that local authorities will still be able to fulfil the aims of the Charter when Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme is introduced.

No specific risk assessment has been carried out for the impact of the Household Recycling Charter on recycling rates.

The Scottish Government has committed to evaluate the Household Recycling Charter. This work has been delayed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are working with COSLA and local authorities to take forward this evaluation.

The development of an electronic system for hazardous waste is being taken forward through a multi-agency project which proposes to implement a mandatory electronic waste tracking system. We plan on consulting on these proposals in the Autumn. Accurate costs and staffing hours for this multi-agency project are not held centrally.

The transfrontier shipment of waste is a reserved matter. We will work with Defra to consider any changes to improve data collection on transfrontier shipment of waste.

We are not aware of a specific recommendation for the preferred full design for a HazDoc system submitted to Scottish Government.

The development of an electronic system for hazardous waste is being taken forward as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, as set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan. The design of this system so far has involved input from a range of stakeholders and will be informed through a consultation planned in Autumn.

No risk assessment has been carried out regarding the potential impact on recycling rates of charging for garden waste collection.

There is no statutory requirement for local authorities to separately collect garden waste and charging for its collection is not a new option available to councils. Garden waste is included in Schedule 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 which contains the types of waste for which a charge for collection may be made. It is up to individual councils whether to charge or not.

As set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan, we will consult on requirements to separately collect garden waste by 2023, to further promote reuse and recycling.

The following table shows reported efficiencies of each incineration plant for 2020. Installations are required to meet a 20% electrical efficiency from date of commissioning as set out in the Thermal Treatment of Waste Guidelines 2014 (TTWG 2014).