Campaigners call for Circular Economy Bill to be reinstated as soon as possible.
The majority of people living in Scotland would support measures to tackle “throwaway culture”, a government consultation has revealed.
Analysis of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on creating a circular economy revealed that 82% of respondents wanted ministers to prioritise charges on single-use cups, a so-called “latte law”.
Nine in ten respondents agreed that Scottish enforcement agencies should have the power to seize vehicles suspected of waste crime, similar to the rest of the UK, while 80% said the 5p charge on plastic bags had a positive effect on the environment.
There was also public backing for the principle of greater consistency in household recycling collections across different local authority areas and increasing the minimum charge on carrier bags to 10p.
The consultation, which had over 1,600 responses, had been expected to inform the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Bill before the end of this parliamentary term. This bill has now been delayed by up year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Sarah Moyes, Friends of the Earth Scotland’s plastic and circular economy campaigner, said the responses showed that most Scots supported measures to tackle plastic pollution and litter.
However, she added, “there is still a consensus that the Government needs to go further in order to reduce our consumption of resources, with targets to reduce our carbon and material footprints”.
Ms Moyes continued: “As global consumption increases, there is more pressure than ever before on the earth’s decreasing resources. It’s clear from responses that people in Scotland want to see action taken to address it in light of the climate crisis. Moving to a circular economy can help this as it will reduce the amount of materials we use and therefore cut our climate pollution.
“While we fully understand the Circular Economy Bill has been delayed so the Scottish Government can focus on the current health crisis, we believe this bill should be reintroduced at the next possible opportunity to help drive the necessary action needed to transform Scotland into a true circular economy.”
