Chapter 9.2.1 Strategic approaches

Expand product stewardship schemes

Expand product stewardship schemes to include, for instance, wind turbine blades, fishing and aquaculture gear, mattresses and textiles.

International
UK Govt
Scottish Govt
Local Authorities
Emissions reduction
Behaviour change

The principle of producers taking responsibility for their products over the whole lifecycle of that product is positive, and helps deliver on the Polluter Pays principle.

In addition, product stewardship schemes, such as Extended Producer Responsibility, have the potential to bring in much needed funding from the private sector to invest in mitigating the environmental impact of these products at the end of their life.

In practice product stewardship schemes implementation can sometimes conflict with existing re-use and preparation for re-use activities when implemented poorly, notably by restricting access for re-use operators to discarded yet re-usable goods. There are many examples across the world where schemes have damaged environmental social enterprises by removing access to valuable material that they were preparing for reuse.

Through the Strategy and Route Map that flow from the Act, the Scottish Government should bring forward product stewardship schemes which:

  • are mindful of the waste hierarchy by prioritising local reuse and repair over large recycling schemes
  • embed a just transition approach, ensuring decent jobs are created and workers are directly incorporated into the transition process
  • strongly discourage the export of waste materials for overseas processing, which significantly undermines public confidence in recycling
  • support and invest in local circular economy projects, including those delivered by local charities and social enterprises

Any implementation of product stewardship schemes should include commitments to prioritise third and social sector reuse organisations. For example, in Spain a law mandates 50% of public tenders relating to collection, transport and treatment of second-hand products, go to social enterprises.

For further information:

Version 1.0: September 2023

The contents of this document will be updated on a regular basis.