Chamber and committees

We have recently provided grant funding to support Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) and Marine Conservation Society (MCS) volunteer-led clean ups and to provide clean, disinfected equipment for small group clean ups in locations across Scotland.

There have been 20 ‘Community Hubs’ set up by KSB, hosted by local organisations, providing kit to local volunteers and 30 sets of kit sent out by MCS to 30 volunteers groups in coastal areas across Scotland.

Previously, a number of community-based projects have been supported including providing funding of £650,000 between 2013-16 to support the Clean Up Scotland campaign led by Keep Scotland Beautiful. This included key targets to engage harder to reach communities and blackspots and to support action beyond the litter pick. In addition, over £1.5 million in grant funded projects was provided to communities and organisations through a range of initiatives. These are: Flytipping Small Grants Scheme, Recycle on the Go, Litter and Flytipping Community Action Fund, Community Options Grant Fund, Innovation Funds and Contextual Messaging Toolkit Communications Fund. These were administered by Zero Waste Scotland.

In the Programme for Government 2020-21 we announced the establishment of a £70 recycling fund to improve local authority collection infrastructure, along with the development of a route map to achieving our 2025 recycling targets. We will work in partnership with COSLA and local authorities to develop and deliver the fund to ensure it supports further improvements in local recycling rates.

Alongside Zero Waste Scotland, we will provide a range of other support to local authorities to ensure high quality recycling, including evaluating the Household Recycling Charter, evaluating its supporting Code of Practice and supporting effective communications with householders.

A contextual messaging toolkit has been developed based on behavioural insights research Public Perceptions and Concerns Around Litter carried published in 2015. The litter toolkit cost £120,000 and helps to provide effective context-specific and local communication messages.

A grant fund was available to organisations to bid in to use the toolkit in situ, a total of 9 organisations received funding across Falkirk, Edinburgh, Highland, North Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Argyll and Bute. A total of £43,000 was awarded to the 9 funding recipients. We do not hold longitudinal data that would allow us to accurately represent what the reduction in litter frequency/volume has been as a result of the local messaging.

Since 2014, Zero Waste Scotland, SEPA & local authorities
have engaged with several thousand businesses regarding
compliance with the Waste (Scotland) regulations 2012 and
wider resource efficiency measures. Where appropriate, this
engagement included advice on sharing waste collection
services. Data on the number and nature of business
collaborations is not available.

Additionally, through Resource Efficient Scotland, guidance
was provided to businesses to improve waste management
practices. This includes detailed information on the collaborative
commissioning of waste collection services. Support was
provided to Business Improvement Districts as part of this piece of work.https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/
ImprovingWasteManagementGuideBusinessGroups%20RES.pdf

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund was opened for applications on 21 August 2020 with the closing date for applications on 18 December 2020, with funding awards being made in January 2021. As of 9 November 2020, there have been no applications submitted or approved, but please note that we would not expect there to be in receipt of a substantive number of applications at this stage with over a month left for organisations to apply.

We have received considerable interest in the fund, with over 50 enquiries from Registered Social Landlords, Local Authorities and Energy Supply Companies.

Information webinars and application support continue to be provided throughout the application window and we anticipate receiving a high number of applications for low carbon social housing projects.

Zero Waste Scotland published a qualitative report in 2015 that sought to understand both perceptions of litter and attitudes towards litter to help inform and shape key behavioural interventions. Additionally, a short survey of public attitudes and behaviours in relation to litter and flytipping was commissioned in 2016 and the annual Scottish Household Survey provides a snapshot of public attitudes to littering in local areas.

Zero Waste Scotland has provided additional guidance through communications, Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse engagement and litter prevention action plans to help support stakeholders to minimise the impact of litter escaping from bins or vehicles.

Through funding supplied to stakeholders, 4,254 Recycle on the Go bins were installed across 22 local authority areas between 2011-2016, providing an estimated 600,000 litres of capacity.

An analysis suggests that the 3,095 bins (450,000 litres of capacity) installed during 2011-2013 collected between 1,300 and 1,900 tonnes per year.

A number of relevant projects in remote areas have been funded through the following funds:

• Litter and Flytipping Community Action Fund 2014-2015
• Flytipping Small Grants Scheme 2011-2013
• Recycle on The Go Infrastructure Fund

In addition, Zero Waste Scotland are the lead for flytipping on the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which includes inputting to regional partnerships against rural crime (PARCs) that focus on flytipping prevention.

The following table provides a summary of the number of calls received by the SEPA Call Centre Dumb Dumpers Hotline