Household Recycling Code of Practice: Consultation document

Scope of the Code

Local authorities already have waste management functions in relation to the collection and recycling of household waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and they are required to comply with those existing statutory obligations. This Household Recycling Code of Practice does not change those existing obligations. Its purpose is to set out standards expected of local authorities and the steps they should take in carrying out those existing waste collection and recycling services.

The Code contains practical guidance to local authorities in how to adopt an effective approach to meeting their existing statutory obligations in providing waste collection and recycling services. It does not impose additional legal requirements, though local authorities have a duty to outline how they intend to carry out functions of the Code in relation to the collection and recycling of household waste.

Local authorities have a duty to implement the waste hierarchy^[1] and support preparation for reuse where goods have become waste but through a process, such as repair or replacement of a component, can be made suitable for reuse. Many local authorities also provide reuse services, diverting items from becoming waste in the first place, but they do not have a statutory duty to do so and the Code cannot set out steps to be taken in relation to reuse. However, local authorities should consider preparation for reuse before recycling where this is practicable. The Code seeks to be consistent with the waste hierarchy and does not prevent local authority reuse activities, which are to be encouraged in delivering a more circular economy.

Implementing the Code will have an upfront cost and implications for ongoing revenue to operate these services (though this will vary for local authorities depending on their existing level of alignment). The Scottish Government is therefore consulting on the key provisions identified through co-design on the basis that we propose to fund the change that would be required by local authorities if they were to provide waste collection and recycling services consistently with the Code.

Efficient and effective costs associated with the collection and management of packaging waste must be funded through payments made under packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR). Increased waste management costs for packaging that result from the implementation of this Code, where these are efficient and effective and achieve the environmental outcomes set out in the four nation policy statement on pEPR, are therefore covered under local authority payments under the pEPR scheme. National policies on waste management, which include this Code of Practice, inform the pEPR scheme administrator’s assessment of the effectiveness of waste management services.

The co-design process ensures that the Code is readily deliverable. It reflects local authority operations and available infrastructure in Scotland. It is anticipated that these measures are adopted by all local authorities.

However, a Code of Practice can go further to highlight best practice and provide more detailed service delivery and operational guidance. Opportunities to exceed the provisions of the Code are identified throughout when relevant as well as in the final section on Options to Go Further, as discussed during co-design.

The content of the Code may be expanded based on consultation feedback to provide additional guidance on best practice or that could be part of future recommended phases of delivery. Consultation questions prompt specifically for this feedback.