A huge thank you to all of our members, supporter members, people and organisations across Scotland who signed to show their support for our ‘Policy Paper for Scotland’s Circular Economy’.

Circular Communities Scotland and our members welcomed the Scottish Government’s consultation for the Scottish Circular Economy Bill, and called for the bill to be as strong and ambitious as possible.

Our policy paper detailed meaningful and concrete policy asks, calling for the bill to include:

• National reuse targets to help local authorities prioritise reuse over recycling.

• A statutory agency for the circular economy – a strong public body with responsibility to deliver faster and more ambitious transition to a circular economy.

• Statutory requirements for reuse facilities to ensure consistent reuse provision across Scotland.

• Investing in local authority recycling centres to deliver adequate and effective set aside for reuse provision.

• Investment in reuse and repair projects to grow reuse and repair provision in Scotland.

• Embrace right to repair to increase the lifespan of products.

• Extend producer responsibility to engage thoughtfully with re-use activities and practises.

• Ban unnecessary product destruction to stop waste and provide quality products for reuse organisations.

• Circular public procurement to embed circular practises into public sector tendering and procurement.

• Phase out single use products to avoid unnecessary waste.

We received over 100 signatures in support for these policy asks, and added 60 of our members names to a letter to Ms. Lorna Slater, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, outlining our asks and encouraging the establishment of a circular economy with bold reuse policies at its heart.

We also hosted three Circular Economy Bill Briefing events for our membership, the first of which was attended by Ms. Slater who heard our members views on the consultation. We also heard speakers from Scottish Government, Friends of the Earth and more as we worked to give our members the change to learn, and receive support and advice for them to make their own individual responses to the consultation, as well as a change to inform or collective response to both the Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map consultations.

Circular Communities Scotland is pleased to announce we have submitted our consultation responses, and are looking forward to continuing our policy work on behalf on our membership, to help ensure Scotland establishes a meaningful circular economy.

If you’d like to discuss this campaign with us further, email info@circularcommunities.scot.