Managing controlled waste - code of practice: duty of care - island communities impact assessment

Introduction

1. This Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) has been prepared to accompany requirements for the separation and collection of plastic films (including flexible packaging) from 31 March 2027. The new requirements are introduced through amendment of the existing Duty of Care Code of Practice for managing controlled waste (hereafter the Code).

2. This change was consulted upon as part of proposals for a UK-wide packaging EPR scheme. Three consultations have been conducted on these proposals:

• 2019. Consultation on reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system^[1]
• 2021. Consultation on the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging^[2]
• 2023. Consultation on the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024^[3]

3. The commitment to introduce collections was confirmed in the four nations government response in 2022. Implementation of that commitment is to be taken forward separately in each nation, rather than introduced through a UK-wide statutory instrument, as was the case for Packaging ^EPR[4].

4. Implementation of the requirement to collect plastic films for recycling from the non-household municipal sector in Scotland is taken forward through amendment of the existing Duty of Care Code of Practice for managing controlled waste. The Scottish Government published a further public consultation on the updated Code from 27 November 2025 to 5 February 2026.^[5]

5. The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers and other relevant authorities, including a number of public authorities, to have regard to island communities in exercising their functions. For the Scottish Ministers, this includes the development of policies.

6. An Islands Communities Impact Assessment must align with the requirements of the Islands Act, namely to:

• (i) describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service (as the case may be) on island communities, and
• (ii) assess the extent to which the authority considers that the policy, strategy or service (as the case may be) can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it.

7. The Scottish Government’s island communities impact assessments guidance^[6] sets out four preliminary stages that must be undertaken prior to preparing an ICIA. These are:

• (i) Developing a clear understanding of the objectives and intended outcomes of the policy, strategy or service including any island needs or impacts
• (ii) Gathering data, identifying evidence gaps and identifying stakeholders
• (iii) Consulting with appropriate stakeholders
• (iv) Assessing whether there are any issues resulting from the proposed policy that are significantly different from those that would be experienced on the mainland, or on other islands

8. If any significantly different impacts are identified, an ICIA will be required.

9. The development of impact assessments is an iterative process, and this ICIA accompanies previous ICIAs completed for the UK-wide Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility regulations^[7],[8], and should be read in the context of those assessments.