- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Peterborough's model for becoming a circular city by 2050 and its potential application to local authority areas in Scotland.
Answer
While we have not made any direct assessment of the Peterborough model, Zero Waste Scotland has engaged with Peterborough City Council in the past and has since explored a number of regional strategies and approaches to help inform their work to support cities and regions to adopt circular economy principles.
Zero Waste Scotland recently developed a framework for local authorities. The framework has been produced to help local authorities embed circular economy into their own operations, their wider cities, districts and regions and to deliver circular opportunities and benefits. It draws together experience, knowledge and learning from Scotland as well as other organisations and locations.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to encourage consumers to dispose of nitrous oxide canisters responsibly.
Answer
A range of information and advice is available from Zero Waste Scotland and local authorities to help consumers recycle and dispose of waste responsibly, including gas canisters. Householders can seek specific advice from their local authority on recycling and disposal options in their local area.
Nitrous oxide canisters should not be disposed of in residual waste (‘black bag’) bins as they may explode if they are crushed, increasing the risk of injury or fire. Consumers of nitrous oxide canisters should follow advice provided by suppliers or contact their local authority to check that these items are accepted at their nearest Household Recycling Centre, where gas canisters can be safely stored and disposed of by a specialist waste contractor that has the facility to recycle them safely.
We will continue to work closely with the waste sector to consider any further advice required to support safe disposal of nitrous oxide canisters.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the health and safety risk of nitrous oxide canisters being found in Material Recycling Facilities and Energy from Waste plants.
Answer
The Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum develops and promotes health and safety guidance for the waste management industry with input from industry experts and other bodies, such as the Health and Safety Executive.
Existing WISH guidance offers advice on eliminating or reducing the risk of serious injury associated with the handling, storage and disposal of unwanted or unidentifiable gas cylinders (‘orphaned’ cylinders) that may appear in the waste stream.
WISH has also advised that it is developing new guidance on how Material Recovery Facilities can address the dangers of gas cylinder and aerosol explosions.
Following discussion at the Waste and Resources Sector Forum, waste sector stakeholders are considering any other actions that could be taken to address key fire safety risks. We will continue to work closely with the sector to consider any further actions required to ensure safe recycling and disposal of nitrous oxide canisters.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether weight is the most appropriate metric for measuring quantities of waste, and, if this is not the case, whether (a) climate change coefficient, (b) environmental impact, (c) scarcity, (d) recyclability and (e) social benefit is being considered as an alternative metric.
Answer
As set out in our 2022 Waste and Circular Economy Route Map consultation, we intend to set new circular economy targets for the period to 2030, which go beyond weight-based criteria.
We must ensure that any future targets correspond to our Environment Strategy and overall vision for a circular economy, alongside the four underpinning principles we set out in the consultation. These key principles included focus on achieving net zero by 2045 and the delivery of a sustainable international material footprint.
Our final Route Map is due for publication later in 2023.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to encouraging local authorities to issue public bonds to attract investment for net zero projects.
Answer
Local authorities are independent democratically elected bodies with their own powers and responsibilities. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to and outcomes for their local communities, including decisions on borrowing to attract investment for net zero projects. Any borrowing by local authorities, whether it’s through the public works loans board or through the issuance of bonds, is for local authorities to determine affordability themselves, subject to the conditions of their prudential borrowing regime.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it is improving data gathering in relation to health outcomes.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what funding it has provided to (a) businesses within the reuse and remanufacturing sector and (b) any other businesses or organisations, for specific projects to improve their own circularity, in order to improve circularity within Scotland, in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund (LCMCF) is a new Fund operated by Scottish Enterprise providing capital investment of £26m over five years.
At 17 April, £150,000 has been provided to one project supporting a business which helps to improve its own circularity via the re-use of energy.
We also support Zero Waste Scotland who provide a range of support and advice for businesses looking to develop circular business ideas.
Details of the funding provided by Zero Waste Scotland are as follows.
| | £m 2018-19 | £m 2019-20 | £m 2020-21 | £m 2021-22 | £m 2022-23 | £m Total |
Circular Economy Investment Fund | 2.34 | 2.21 | 1.5 | 3.25 | 2.14 | 11.44 |
Circular Economy Business Support | 1.57 | 2.34 | 0.9 | 1.11 | 0.45 | 6.37 |
Green Islands | 0 | 0 | 0.23 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.25 |
Revolve | 0 | 0 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.16 |
Construction Advice and Support Service | 0 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0.16 |
Annual Total | 3.91 | 4.63 | 2.79 | 4.39 | 2.66 | 18.38 |
ZWS estimate that approximately £2.16 million of the Circular Economy Investment Fund support detailed in the table relates to re-use and re-manufacturing.
The Circular Economy Business Support programme provided SMEs with tailored, expert, one-to-one consultancy support.
Green Islands funding supported the provision of dispensing and other equipment that enabled customers to obtain grocery products in reusable containers
The Revolve programme provided direct funding to support reuse organisations
The Construction Advice and Support Service supported Scottish construction businesses to become more sustainable and circular in their day to day working.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of any stretched local authority budgets on the ability to deliver waste collection and recycling services.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not carried out analysis on any association between local authority budgets and delivering waste collection and recycling services.
The Scottish Government has provided an additional £793 million to local government in 2023-24, which is a real terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent. However, it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities, taking account of local needs and priorities.
Scottish Government continues to engage and support local authorities with waste and recycling operations. This includes our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund, to support local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure and deliver modernised services.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the 2019 Full Business Case for the Deposit Return Scheme needs to be updated in light of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent inflationary pressures and increased energy prices, and, if it considers that it does need updating, when that update will be carried out.
Answer
The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Addendum for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme were updated when the amending Regulations were introduced in December 2021. Any further changes to the Deposit Return Scheme Regulations will have the appropriate impact assessment work carried out during the drafting process in the same way.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31530 by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 September 2020, whether it will provide an updated table of capacity figures to 2023, with projections to 2030.
Answer
The following table shows permitted incineration capacity figures held by SEPA to 2023.
The first report of the independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland’s waste hierarchy, made assumptions about capacity beyond 2023, although in doing so, noted that it is unlikely that all facilities in the pipeline (i.e. those not build and at various stages of planning and permitting) will be built. The first report from the independent review is available here: Stop, Sort, Burn, Bury (www.gov.scot)
Year | Total operational waste incineration operational capacity (million tonnes) | Operational biomass incineration capacity (million tonnes) | Operational municipal waste incineration capacity (million tonnes) | Permitted municipal waste incineration capacity (million tonnes) |
2007 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
2008 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
2009 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
2010 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
2011 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
2012 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
2013 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
2014 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
2015 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
2016 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
2017 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
2018 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 |
2019 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1 | 1.3 |
2020 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1 | 1.5 |
2021 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
2022 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
2023 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
