Question reference: S6W-03195
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 September 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options it is considering to ensure that glass does not exit closed-loop recycling, if the forthcoming deposit return scheme does not include a re-melt target.
Answer
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, requires any person who manages controlled waste to apply the Waste Hierarchy set out in Article 4(1) of Directive 2009/98/EC (the “Waste Framework Directive”) and to take reasonable steps to increase the quantity and quality of recyclable materials, with the desired outcome being closed-loop recycling.
The scheme administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will therefore have to ensure glass is sorted and processed in a way that maintains the recyclate in a high-value state.