Chamber and committees

That is important but having the same colours would make it easier. Glasgow did a television ad with the message, “Put X into your blue bin” that bled into East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire. East Renfrewshire residents were confused, because that was not what they needed to put into their blue bins. That speaks to the importance of my amendment 57. It is about the Scottish Government saying, “This is how we are going to achieve very basic targets.”

I will put the discussion in play and relate it to tackling net zero: if we cannot get kerbside recycling right, we should forget net zero. We may as well all go home; there is no point. My suggestions are basic things and we can lift and lay the ways in which to do them from other regions in the UK and other countries. I think that it is important to highlight some of these aspects, because I am increasingly seeing local authorities doing different things, such as Angus Council taking glass out of its dry mixed recycling bin and asking people to take glass to bring sites. There are pros and cons with all these things, but it is clear that the guidance that is given to local authorities on achieving targets will be important.

We do not need to go far for those examples. England did not have the same positive narrative on recycling or the same ambitious targets as Scotland, and, broadly, it has a very similar recycling rate. Wales took a different approach. It had the Scottish version of, if you like, positivity about recycling and words, but those have been linked to actions, which is why its recycling rates are so high.

That is not the only way to do it. That is the central point of my amendment: the easiest thing to do would have been to start with the Welsh approach 15 or 20 years ago, and to roll it out in that manner. We need to ask what we do now: can we lift and lay the Welsh approach? We have a patchwork quilt, and it will be more challenging.

It would, but I want to know from the Scottish Government whether that is possible. In response to Monica Lennon’s question, we know that the Welsh model works. I want to know whether that can be imported. I cannot answer that question without the information that the Scottish Government and local authorities have.

I move amendment 46.

Will the minister give way?

I have two questions. First, given the investment that local authorities have made, I appreciate your comment about the colours of bins. Would the Scottish Government consider coloured stickers that are linked to numbers or letters as part of a standardisation process?

Secondly, the co-design process that has been articulated is essentially the same process—as far as I can tell—that has gone on for a decade or more and that has resulted in a flatlining of recycling rates. How will doing the same thing again drastically change the outcome?

The bin fines are, unfortunately, a rabbit hole. They might be worthy of consideration, but, as we heard from the minister, would be used only in the most unusual cases, based on the evidence that is likely to be presented. Therefore, I respectfully suggest that any length of time spent on that measure by the team is a distraction from transformational changes that could be worked on. That is what the Scottish Government wants to make part of its agenda for a circular economy, but I fail to see the argument for that.

Nonetheless, there are opportunities to standardise bin colours or a introduce a more consistent approach. As a result of the approach that is being taken, a cynic might think that the question that is being answered—certainly not by the minister but by a series of previous ministers and cabinet secretaries—is: how do we ensure that recycling flatlines for as long as possible in Scotland? It is another example of how Scotland does that—and there is a long list of them.

Yes, and it is embarrassing that the committee thinks that meeting a recycling target 12 years late is too onerous. If we are in a climate emergency, we should act quickly. The opposite has been proposed and consistently voted on by the committee on a series of measures.

I do not intend to move amendment 57, but there is more work to be done on the possibilities for standardisation. In broad terms, on segregating waste, the industrial reprocessing infrastructure, which has a lifespan of 25 years, is already future proofing the recycling capacity for households as well as commercial and industrial concerns. Without some major public funding to change it, that system will remain locked in—rightly or wrongly. Therefore, it is already future proofed, so we could get standardisation across a host of local authorities and increase our recycling rates quickly and easily if anyone wanted to do so.

I will press it.

After, I think, three sessions and almost 15 hours, I thought that I might have something that the Scottish Government agreed with. I am a little puzzled as to what is wrong with amendment 56, but, nonetheless, I will take what has been said as supportive. I hope that I have not made a mistake somewhere along the line.

Amendment 55 agreed to.

Amendment 160 moved—[Jackie Dunbar]—and agreed to.

Amendments 56 and 57 not moved.

Amendment 66 seeks to protect front-line waste operatives from assaults, via guidance. I lodged the two amendments in the group because changes could be made to the terms and conditions of waste operatives as a result of the bill. In case there are any changes as a result of bin fines or contamination inspections, I seek to ensure that ministers must get approval from trade unions and local authorities before implementing legislation to get waste operatives to inspect bins.

Clearly, our front-line staff are out there already and, under their current terms and conditions, they may on occasion, depending on the local authority, be required to engage in certain practices. However, based on our earlier discussions, it appears that there could be a significant change to work practices as a result of the bill. It is important that workplace safety and working conditions are to the fore when we consider the legislation, and that is what the amendments in the group are about.