Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted to understand the impact of microplastics in disposable cups.
There has been no specific research on microplastics in single use cups, but wider research on the subject of microplastics was considered as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. This concluded that reducing the numbers of disposable cups being used and littered the environmental impacts of microplastic pollution would be reduced. This and other impact assessments supported the development of our single use cups policy.