Zero Waste Scotland Programme Plan 2011-15 Programme Plan 2011-15.pdf · business plan and programmes that Zero Waste Scotland will establish to achieve the outcomes required

Zero Waste Scotland Programme Plan 2011-15

Page 1 of 36 ZWS Programme Business Plan 2011‐15 FINAL NO APPENDICES

Zero Waste Scotland

Programme Plan 2011-15



Contents

Executive summary ......................................................................................................... 3

Strategic objectives for Zero Waste Scotland ..................................................................... 6

Areas for action............................................................................................................... 7

Resource streams ............................................................................................................ 8

Key programmes in this area for action ....................................................................... 10

Resource management sector ........................................................................................ 15


Economic opportunity .................................................................................................... 20


Education and awareness ......................................................................................... 28


Core Communications .................................................................................................... 34

Research and information .............................................................................................. 34

Governance .................................................................................................................. 35

Costs & budgets ............................................................................................................ 36



Executive summary

Zero Waste Scotland has been established by the Scottish Government as its single delivery programme to support the actions set out in the Zero Waste Plan and to provide support, more generally, for the move towards a Zero Waste society.

The Zero Waste Plan sets out the strategic goals that Scotland needs to meet to achieve a sustainable approach to waste and resources. It specifies a number of key areas for action, and specific actions to be taken within each area. Zero Waste Scotland has responsibility for implementing a number of these specific actions, as well as supporting the delivery of the plan generally, and this document sets out the business plan and programmes that Zero Waste Scotland will establish to achieve the outcomes required. At the core of the Zero Waste Scotland programme are three key drivers that run through all areas of activity. These are:

Minimising the use of primary resources Prevention of waste Closed loop recycling

All Zero Waste Scotland programmes share these drivers, and will include elements of education and awareness-raising to support the changes in attitudes and behaviours that will be required to move towards a zero waste society in Scotland. This document outlines the suite of programmes that will form the delivery of Zero Waste Scotland over the period 2011-15, with budget allocations for 2011/12 only. The programmes are grouped into areas for action which correlate broadly with the areas for action described in the Zero Waste Plan.



Figure 1: Zero Waste Scotland programme groups Economic Opportunity includes programmes to promote resource efficiency in businesses in Scotland in general, as well as support targeted at specific sectors where there is evidence that there is an opportunity for significant impact. Target sectors include food and non-food retail supply chains, hospitality, construction and large public sector organisations. The Resource Streams area of activity will prioritise material streams where there is evidence that significant impact on key outcome targets can be achieved. Work on resource streams will start from the basis of always seeking to minimise the resource use. Resource streams targeted will include organics (food and green waste) from households and businesses, plastics and textiles. We will also support innovative approaches to resource recovery and support the development of clean technologies in Scotland. Included in the Resource Management Sector are commercial resource management businesses, local authorities and third sector organisations. Zero Waste Scotland will work with these organisations to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the sector, providing support for infrastructure development, and focussing on innovative solutions where market failures exist. Education and Awareness activity will seek to enable the changes in attitudes and behaviours needed to create a zero waste society in Scotland. This will include local and national campaigns, development of good practice guides and toolkits, and working to establish zero waste education and principles in the curriculum at all levels. Zero Waste Scotland will be structured as an organisation with a core team of Heads of Programmes providing strategic direction and coordination of programmes, a marketing and communications function, and operational management in the form of



programme and project management. Zero Waste Scotland will be delivered by the UK based organisation Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and will leverage substantial benefit from other parts of WRAP, in the form of support for governance, strategy and programme development. Programme evaluation will be designed to feed back into strategy and programme development. ‘Back office’ services and technical expertise will be provided through a limited local staff, supported by shared services with other parts of WRAP where appropriate. Zero Waste Scotland will employ key account managers to work directly with key, high impact and high priority organisations in the public and private sector. However in most cases whilst Zero Waste Scotland retains ‘ownership’ of programmes and oversees their delivery, the delivery itself is contracted out to other private or public sector organisations or social and community enterprises. This optimises the flexibility that Zero Waste Scotland needs to be able to respond to changing priorities and changing budgets. The headline budget for the programmes in 2011/12 is around £25M. The core programme budget is £21M, representing a saving of approximately 10% on the 2010/11 budget, however additional funding has been made available by the Scottish Government to allow for the expansion of food waste collection and treatment activities consistent with Zero Waste Plan ambitions and associated Regulatory proposals.



Strategic objectives for Zero Waste Scotland

Zero Waste Scotland will deliver a collection of programmes contributing to the development of a zero waste society in Scotland. The Zero Waste Scotland brand will present resource management support in Scotland as a single, integrated entity, with a series of programmes and workstreams aligned with the Zero Waste Plan and focused on where the programmes can have the greatest impact. The Zero Waste Scotland programmes will result in a change of mindset in the way resources and waste are viewed in Scotland, through the provision of better information and education about resource management. The programmes will lead to a significant reduction in waste arising, an increased separation of waste into resource streams, and economic opportunities will result from improved reprocessing and treatment infrastructure. The Zero Waste Scotland programmes will be supported by a core team, working in partnership and maximising the value of relationships with other delivery bodies and agencies. The programmes will lead to the enhancement of zero waste expertise in Scotland and will therefore support policy making in the Scottish Government. Zero Waste Scotland will be structured so that the programmes are flexible, able to respond to changing priorities in the future, including varying funding levels. In the shorter term, Zero Waste Scotland will be considered to be a success if:

It is delivering the actions ascribed to it in the Zero Waste Plan; It is leading a move to resource use minimisation, waste reduction and an awareness of resource management issues; It is accommodating, and able to accommodate, budget constraints and changing priorities as required; It is developing zero waste expertise in Scotland, whilst maximising the benefits of UK-wide programmes and support from other parts of WRAP.



Areas for action

Following the direction of the Zero Waste Plan, Zero Waste Scotland will deliver programmes based around the areas for action identified in the ZWP: Resource Streams, Economic Opportunity, Resource Management Sector and Education and Awareness. It is important that Zero Waste Scotland delivers an integrated collection of programmes so that impact achieved in one area is supported and underpinned by impacts achieved in other areas, enabling Zero Waste Scotland to achieve the outcomes required of it. As an illustration, opportunities will be missed if consumers segregate food waste without the collection and treatment infrastructure being in place to maximize the benefit of the waste as a resource stream. This integration requires a strategic, managed approach, and in some instances, a UK-wide and international outlook.



Resource streams

Mission To alter the way waste is managed in Scotland, by contributing to developing a closed loop economy and putting Scotland on track to deliver 70% recycling and a maximum of 5% to landfill by 2025, within an overall context of reducing waste. Scope and Behaviour Change The programme will focus on increasing the closed-loop recycling of waste materials with the greatest carbon impact, and hence maximise the economic and environmental benefits for Scotland. Initial priorities are organics, plastics, waste electrical equipment (WEEE) and textiles from households and businesses but further research will identify where there may be other priority streams, taking into account the carbon metric and economic factors. The focus of the work is to drive a change in management of waste throughout the supply chain for priority materials. The main programmes of work are with waste producers (from across commercial, industrial, household and public sector bodies); organics, plastics and textiles reprocessors; agriculture, regeneration and other land-based industries, and the plastics and packaging industries. Principal Outcomes, by March 2015

• A change in mindset in Scotland in the way resources and wastes are man-aged across all the key sectors identified above. • Increased separation of waste into resource streams and priority materials re-cycled into closed-loop applications in Scotland. • Increased processing and sorting capacity in Scotland to allow for closed loop recycling of materials, particularly in plastics and organics. • Increased recycled content in closed loop materials, products and manufactur-ing. • Maintaining progress to date.

Current Market Assessment and Barriers The landfill tax escalator is already resulting in increased diversion of materials from landfill, but there is no guarantee that the market will deliver a closed loop economy as a result of this diversion. There are market failures in supply & quality of supply, demand and market operation for key materials, in particular for Scotland these are food waste, plastics and tex-tiles. Food Waste Recent research indicates that the total food waste arisings in Scotland are in the region of 2.3Mtpa, of which a small fraction is currently landfilled (~470ktpa). The bulk of the land-filled material comes from household and hospitality sources. However, the remainder of this (approximately 1.59Mtpa) is waste arising from the food & drink production / pro-cessing sector which is disposed of as waste but to outlets other than landfill, namely efflu-ent treatment, rendering and land spreading. In terms of a closed-loop economy, these el-ements are also a target for recycling.



Research conducted at a UK level by Eunomia Research & Consulting in 2007, which re-viewed a range of different food waste collection and treatment options, concluded that the separate collection of household and commercial food waste coupled with anaerobic diges-tion was likely to provide the best overall environmental performance of all the systems studied. This is reflected in the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan carbon metric, which recognises the importance of AD not only to recycling targets but also in a range of other policy areas, including the Renewable Action Plan’s heat target, improving the sus-tainability of food production, improving soil health & biodiversity and reducing the carbon impacts of transport. Plastics An estimated 200,000 tonnes of household plastic waste is currently generated annually in Scotland, but only around 15,000 tonnes is currently collected for recycling. There is cur-rently limited sorting and reprocessing infrastructure in Scotland for plastics. Much of the material currently collected is plastic bottles, and although there remains a significant op-portunity to increase the quantity of bottles recycled, the focus of the work will also be on the closed-loop recycling of other plastics packaging materials. WEEE Some 1.3Mt of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are purchased each year in the UK and recycling data suggest that only 30% of this (only 15% for small EEE items) is collected for recycling - around 450kt of WEEE goes to landfill in the UK each year. There is need to work with the resource management industry to increase collections of WEEE but also to work to improve the availability and preparation for recovery of WEEE materials, particularly plastics by identifying closed loop markets for WEEE recyclate. Textiles A market assessment conducted for the Scottish Government by Remade Scotland in 2008 estimated the total quantities of textiles consumed in Scotland at 215,000tpa, with 135,450tpa being landfilled and 36,550tpa being reused, recovered and recycled. This indi-cates approximately at 21% recycling rate for textiles, but with significant opportunities to enhance quality and quantity of LA collections and for reprocessors to increase their throughputs. Persistent Market failures, across key material streams Supply – Materials are not collected in sufficient quantities or sorted to a quality level that is acceptable to the supply chain, leading to imperfect market operation and competition around the supply and sourcing of materials. Improved supply of quality materials (in par-ticular for the food waste, plastics and textiles streams) will incentivise the development of additional processing capacity to recycle this waste. Demand – A lack of demand for some outputs, for example low-grade textiles and diges-tates, coupled with inability to compete on price with overseas demand; lack of financial incentives to increase recycled content; and to access feedstocks of a suitable quality. Capacity – There is a lack of finance to invest in reprocessing capacity due to perception of risk. The market failure varies by material and product but is typically lack of information and /or barriers to market entry for new facilities and technologies. In particular, for food waste, plastics and textiles there is limited capacity available in Scotland to recycle these



materials and development of this capacity is hampered by the inability to source a secure supply of feedstocks, and hence projects are not bankable. Provision of additional recycling facilities in Scotland will provide an incentive to councils and private business to collect more materials.

Key programmes in this area for action

Organics infrastructure Organics markets Infrastructure &materials – research Infrastructure &materials – financial mechanisms Markets & products

Organics infrastructure Objective: to maximise the efficiency of food waste recycling infrastructure in Scotland and assist in supplying it with appropriate feedstocks; to assist the development of additional food waste infrastructure, where a strategic need is identified; to support the development of on-farm or community AD schemes. Audience: LAs and other waste producers; the waste management industry; the organics industry, including trade associations such as ADBA, REA and AFORS; banks and investment institutions; the agricultural & community sectors; engagement with SEPA & Scottish Enter-prise. Evidence base: The level of organic waste arising is detailed in the previous section, which highlights that there is a significant opportunity to divert this material from waste disposal into closed-loop recycling. Recycling capacity already in place or in build in Scotland is suf-ficient to process all the LA, SME, retail and public sector food wastes (approx. 400ktpa), albeit with gaps in availability in some areas. Types of activity & intervention:

1. Acquiring quality feedstocks Support to Local Authorities and Commercial organisations in collecting food waste through the Food Waste Fund (in conjunction with the Resource Management Pro-gramme), through providing best practice guidance and advice; de-minimus funding for commercial collections; grant funding for LA collections. These are new activities, designed to assist local authorities and commercial collectors dramatically increase the quantity of food waste collected for recycling. Interventions will continue until the business case for collection of food waste only strengthens, until landfill bans are in place, or until the collection of separate food waste is at a sufficient level to put Scotland on the trajectory to achieve 70% recycling by 2025 (whichever is the earli-est). Progress will be kept under yearly review. 2. Development of food waste processing infrastructure Identification of strategically appropriate locations for AD facilities; engaging and in-fluencing investors in AD through due diligence work and demonstration; a de-minimus grant scheme to support improvements in the efficiencies of existing or



planned food waste recycling infrastructure (through the Food Waste Fund); pro-curement support (in partnership with Scottish Futures Trust) for local authorities to secure IVC or AD treatment capacity, capital support for food waste recycling infra-structure in strategic locations (through the Food Waste Fund); demonstration of the economic and environmental case for AD through case studies and demonstration days; continuation of PAS110 support for producers on the certification scheme; tools and specialist advice for small-scale AD developments (for instance on-farm or community schemes). The infrastructure work builds on grant support provided in the previous business plan for in-vessel composting and anaerobic digestion facilities, and aims to maximise the value and efficiency of existing sites. As AD infrastructure continues to develop, the need for capital support will be kept under review.

Key outputs from the above programme of work include: LAs collection grant scheme in place, commercial collection de-minimus grant scheme in place and projects identified for support; a report which identifies the key strategic locations for AD facilities issued; a deminimus grant scheme in place for facility improvements and projects identified for sup-port; demonstration events held; specialist advice drafted for on–farm and community AD projects and PAS110 support provided. Outcomes:

1. 150,000tpa additional food waste processed through AD by the end of the business plan period (i.e. end March 2015), putting Scotland on track towards 70% food waste recycling by 2025. 2. Over 100,000tpa CO2 equivalent savings through diversion of food waste through AD and improvement of site efficiencies by end of the business plan period.

Organics Markets Objective: to develop closed loop markets in Scotland for composts, digestates & biogas Audience: The agricultural sector, including trade associations, retailers and assurance schemes, such as NNFCC, NFUS, QMS, FSA(S), SRC, Potato council, HGCA etc. Organics sector trade associations, such as ADBA, REA and AFORS. The Landscaping and Regenera-tion industries and trade associations such as BALI , SURF, Landscape Institute, Transport Scotland etc. Evidence base: There has been considerable work over the course of the last business plan period to develop evidence on the benefits and methods of using compost in agriculture and landscaping sectors. However, there remains in some sectors reservations and/or per-ception problems which are currently discouraging the use of these materials, despite their benefits. There is limited evidence on the use of digestates across the UK and this pro-gramme will develop this evidence based on trials work and engagement with the sectors. There is sufficient landbank available in Scotland for the spreading of digestates, although more of this is available in the eastern arable areas of the country – so other markets may be needed for other areas. Types of activity & intervention:

1. Agriculture – maximising the value and use of renewable fertilisers through a range of activities and interventions:



Review options for developing added-value products from composts and diges-tates; advice & support to farmers & growers to increase the use of quality com-posts & digestates; review of novel recycled products and understanding of their benefits (eg biochar); development of ‘Renewable Biofertiliser Matrix’ in conjunc-tion with trade bodies etc; research (in conjunction with key trade bodies) to plug knowledge gaps associated with composts / digestates (for example relating to specific hazards, such as potato cyst nematode); long-term field trials for com-post & digestates on a range of crops and awareness raising across supply chain; landbank map developed for Scotland (Allowance). 2. Landscaping & Regeneration Dissemination events for designers, clients and contractors to promote the find-ings of the Landscaping & Regeneration Good Practice Guide; digestate trials (liq-uid and fibre) in 6 L&R sub-sectors from soil manufacture to erosion sports turf use; engagement (through events) with ½ waste to landfill construction initiative to increase quantity of waste soils used in soil manufacture with compost; re-search into new markets for compost & digestate in L&R sectors.

Key outputs from the above programme of work include: long-term trials for digestates in agriculture and landscaping & regeneration underway; Biofertiliser matrix drafted and in discussion; research into specific hazards commissioned; dissemination events for L&R sec-tor undertaken; research into new markets commissioned; Allowance map complete. Outcomes:

1. Food waste diverted from waste identified above (150ktpa) recycled into com-post / digestate for use on land to replace 1,650t of artificial fertilisers, by end of business plan period. 2. CO2 equivalent savings in the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser production – of 3,700tpa, by end of business plan period. 3. 40,000tpa additional digestate / compost recycled by end business plan period

Infrastructure & materials – research Objective: to identify priority resource streams suitable for closed loop recycling in Scotland. To develop programmes for the resource streams identified. To work in conjunction with the UK I&M technical programme for other research. Types of activity and intervention:

1. To review material flows in Scotland to identify which priority resource streams require further invention to develop Scottish recycling infrastructure or markets. Materials will be prioritised based on the carbon metric and economic opportunity (examples could be textiles, WEEE & rare earth metals, plastic films etc). 2. To commence programme development for priority resources identified. 3. To work with the UK I&M technical programme for UK wide research into ma-terials, for example: mixed plastics research; food-grade PP; WEEE treatment technologies; rare resources recovery; glass colour-sorting options.



Key outputs from the above programme of work include: priority resource streams for closed-loop recycling and intervention programmes identified; research underway on range of projects as part of UK programme. Infrastructure & materials – financial mechanisms Objective: to provide support for the development of Scottish closed-loop recycling infra-structure for key resource streams, where a market failure has been identified and where key environmental and economic benefits will result. The initial objective for this programme in 2011/12 is the development of plastics recycling infrastructure in Scotland, to reduce the tonnages of plastics being disposed in landfill. It will increase the quantity of post-consumer plastics sorted and reprocessed back into usable feedstocks in Scotland and will promote projects which displace the use of virgin plastics in manufacturing. Types of activity and intervention:

1. Plastics Capital Grant Programme – to provide financial support to a plastics reprocessing facility that can sort, recycle and reprocess a range of plastics waste arisings and deliver quality recycled plastics which will displace the use of virgin plastics in manufacturing. 2. Mixed Plastics Sorting – one of the factors limiting the increase in collection is the provision of adequate plastics sorting equipment at municipal MRFs. A mixed plastics sorting support programme ran during 2010/11. This activity will review the success of this earlier programme and will develop a subsequent support pro-gramme, subject to the review findings. 3. Development of other specific financial mechanisms to target particular re-source streams, following the findings of research conducted under the Infra-structure & Materials research activities. This will include finance and develop-ment support for innovative resource recovery technologies, supporting the aims of the Scottish Government’s Environmental and Clean Technologies Action Plan. 4. Provide support and information to LAs and commercial operators on plastics recycling options. 5. Scope the requirement for additional textiles collection and recycling infra-structure.

Key outputs from the above programme of work include: agreement of the plastics grant funding contract and support underway; a review of the mixed plastics sorting programme and (if required) the commencement of a second funding round; development of financial mechanisms for other material streams, as required. Outcomes:

1. Reduction of 25,500tpa of virgin plastics use, by end of business plan period 2. Carbon equivalent savings of 32,000tpa, by end of business plan period.

Markets & Products Objective: to develop markets and to encourage demand for recycled resources in Scotland. Types of activity and intervention:



General areas of intervention will be in the development and dissemination of specifications & standards for closed loop materials (to ensure that products and materials are fit for pur-pose); trials and demonstration pilots; good practice case studies; incentivising end markets for the priority products / materials. Market development activities will be prioritised initially in 2011/12 in the following areas: high value recycled polymers into food and technical grade markets; textile-based materials into new markets for clothing / carpets etc & trials (where appropriate); recovery of plastics films into suitable grade for market; standards & specifications to improve input materials quality. Work in this area will be undertaken in conjunction with the Markets & Products Programme and relevant elements expanded where appropriate in Scotland. Key outputs from the above programme of work will include: trials commissioned for certain materials / markets, additional specifications for material quality under development, case studies produced, progress on understanding the market opportunities for plastic film mate-rials and for textile-based materials. Outcomes: The outcome is based on expanding textile recycling under this programme in Scotland, alt-hough impacts will increase over the business plan period as more areas are targeted.

1. Reduction of 15,000tpa in virgin textile use, by end of business plan period



Resource management sector

The resource management sector comprises organisations involved in the collection, reuse, sorting, processing, and treatment of waste resources and water. This includes the waste/resource management functions of local authorities, private sector resource management companies (both traditional waste management businesses and reprocessors), and third sector and volunteer groups involved in waste/resource management. Operationally, we will also include Zero Waste Scotland’s work with the construction industry under the Resource Management sector theme, although there are strong areas of overlap with Business Support activity. This is because of the significant volumes of construction waste and its specific operational requirements, including the potential for on-site reuse and recovery of construction materials, and the need for collections and infrastructure development. Mission The mission of this programme is to build a comprehensive and effective resource man-agement industry where materials are collected, processed to produce a high quality and used to replace virgin materials whenever possible for use in a closed loop economy. Scope and Behaviour Change The programme will engage with a wide range of stakeholders ranging from those involved in the design of large-scale construction projects, major clients and contractors, local au-thorities as clients and collection authorities, commercial resource management contractors, operators of materials reclamation facilities and those involved in the marketing of recov-ered materials to the wider reprocessing industry. This work will also include the involve-ment of the third sector as potential partners and service providers in terms of collection of materials and the promotion of a formal re-use network Principal Outcomes The programme will seek to deliver the following outcomes;

Engagement with the construction sector supply chain to continue the drive to reduce the volume of construction waste consigned to landfill A resource efficiency programme for the construction sector, including work on refurbishment and procurement A comprehensive programme of local authority support An intensive programme focussing on food waste collections Training for the resource management industry, including development of a Zero Waste skills academy Recycling industry support Identification of market failures Capital grant management Development of third sector support including accredited re-use



Current Market Assessment and Barriers Despite the presence of fiscal drivers, significant materials are currently being land filled and the Zero Waste Plan for Scotland has now set challenging targets that will apply to the entire waste stream and are in addition to the existing EU targets. The intention of the pro-gramme will be to help reduce the production of waste through careful planning, capturing materials when they arise using methods that ensure that they can be processed easily and so they can be pushed towards higher-value and more environmentally beneficial recovery markets, making the economic case for recycling. Construction Despite the downturn in construction activity, this sector continues to represent a significant area of activity for Zero Waste Scotland with a much greater emphasis on early stage in-tervention and prevention of waste arisings with a firm emphasis on cost reduction with a need for further work in the areas of refurbishment, product design and resource efficiency. Recycling Business Development The successful achievement of the Zero Waste Plan objectives will depend on the ability of the resource management industry to deal with recovered materials effectively and on the creation of markets that can be supplied with high quality recovered materials with mini-mum carbon impact. In this respect, the current marketplace requires further development to increase opportunities for the acceptance of a greater range of materials as well as gear-ing up to meet the requirements to collect and deal with source segregated and separately collected materials arising from the construction & demolition, commercial & industrial and municipal solid waste streams. Local Authority Support Local authorities will require prolonged and varied support to meet the challenges of the Zero Waste Plan and the pressures of the reduction in public finance. There is a range of skills and experience within local authorities although additional support in key areas will help develop and harness existing resources. In particular, councils will benefit from support around the introduction of food waste collections and the implementation of the carbon metric. With the majority of easy to obtain materials now being captured within existing kerbside collections, the introduction of additional materials as well as maximising the existing collec-tion systems will be an on-going priority for this area of work along with the provision of the skills to enable the sector to continue to develop. Third Sector Support The third sector is a key player in terms of the collection and re-use of important non-core materials such as furniture, white goods and food waste. While some third sector business-es have become self-sustaining, many still require further professional support to develop long term viability. Persistent Market failures Despite significant input from the industry there are still market failures in terms of collection of materials, the supply of quality materials to the reprocessing industry, the



supply of quality recovered materials to the local markets that can be used to stimulate and encourage a closed loop economy, overall prevention activities and the viability of the third sector to play a significant role in resource management sector.


Construction and the Built Environment in Scotland Recycling Industry Support Local Authority Support Third Sector Support

Construction and the Built Environment in Scotland Key objectives: The objective of this programme will be to maximise the opportunities to reduce the production of waste materials from construction activities throughout Scotland, capitalising on the success of the Halving Waste to Landfill commitment by using the ap-proach, tools and lessons learned through the current programme and with the develop-ment of the supply chain. The scope will be expanded to include refurbishment, product de-sign and design for resource efficiency which are areas where gains in terms of reduced waste creation and carbon reduction can be made and in this respect we will work closely with our colleagues throughout the UK to promote a common approach. Targeted audience: This programme will work directly with construction clients, contractors, designers, architects and in industry bodies as well as suppliers and resource management companies. Evidence: The construction sector has demonstrated that it is willing to adapt and change. But it requires additional support to complete the task and in particular help the supply chain, including the significant number of SMEs working in the construction sector in Scot-land. Activities: Continue with an engagement plan to embed the principles of the Halving Waste to Landfill Programme within the sector through one to one support, training on web based tools and training workshops. Events and engagement will be undertaken to publicise the support in terms of resource efficiency, product development and refurbishment and this will be underpinned through UK wide research and reports specific with accompanying case studies relevant to the Scottish market. Key outputs & expected outcomes: The key outputs will be demonstrated in the willingness of the construction industry supply chain to commit to the reduction of waste in all their ac-tivities, a shift of focus to include carbon measurement in all their activities and a willing-ness to embed good practice within their documentation, including tenders, to drive the commitment through the supply chain. Recycling Industry Support Key objectives: This programme will continue to develop the business and markets support theme within the sector and will continue to build capacity in terms of tonnage, capability, effectiveness & efficiency. The programme will be delivered directly by a key account exec-



utive who will work closely with the industry. To date this activity has delivered on a diverse range of projects and has achieved and provided significant added value to the industry. Targeted audience: The main audience will continue to be SMEs in the resource manage-ment industry and suppliers and other related organisations that form an integral part of the supply chain. Evidence: The sector requires on-going support to be able to react to the changing resource management landscape and to provide the facilities and processes that will be required to source, collect and process quality recovered materials. Activities: Activities will include business planning support, marketing planning support, sen-ior management training, access to interim management support, intellectual property rights protection, access to the Equip residual value leasing scheme and the provision of a capital grants scheme to help address identified market failures. Zero Waste Scotland will also participate in UK programmes focusing on increasing quality output from MRFs and other sorting and processing infrastructure, and will support the implementation of appro-priate quality standards or specifications. Key outputs & expected outcomes: Key outputs for this sector will be in the form of in-creased capacity and variety of raw materials processed and this should progress to an in-crease in economic viability and ability to invest. Local Authority Support Key objectives: To provide a comprehensive support service to Scottish local authorities in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of existing collection systems, the introduction of new systems, the provision of a sound evidence base to support the decision making pro-cess, the training of current and future recycling operatives & managers and to provide substantial food waste collection support through practical and financial assistance. Targeted audience: The programme will seek to support all Scottish local authorities. In ad-dition this will mean engagement with householders and commercial business that use the services provided through local authorities, and facilitating greater links with the private and third sector resource management service providers. Evidence: There is a requirement from the local authorities for on-going support to enable them to deliver the commitments of the Zero waste Plan through a formal delivery pro-gramme. Activities: A range of activities will be developed to enable local authorities to address the issues of increasing the capture of materials from current systems, introducing the collec-tion of new material streams including food waste, the identification of training needs and the provision of practical training and the provision of research to inform the local authority decision process in terms of the changes required to meet the requirements of the Zero waste Plan. Key outputs & expected outcomes: The outputs and outcomes from this programme will include the successful roll out of new and revised collection schemes designed to capture



food waste and maximise the capture of existing material streams, the up-skilling of waste management staff to provide them with the necessary knowledge and expertise to become fully competent, the provision of a sound evidence base to allow informed decision making in relation to service changes and access to additional funding Scottish funding streams when available. Third Sector Support Key objectives: To provide a support programme to the third sector to enable organisations to build long-term viability and to actively contribute to the targets in the Zero Waste Plan. This should lead to the establishment of a comprehensive and professional re-use network to bring confidence to the marketplace. Zero Waste Scotland will work very closely with the CRNS as the lead body within the sector. Targeted audience: The target will be community sector organisations working or intending to work within the resource management industry, in particular focusing on community re-use activity, but also supporting innovation within the Third Sector to enable it to work be-yond its current established areas. Evidence: There is a requirement to continue to support the sector and work towards long term sustainability by increasing commercial activity and reducing reliance on grant funding. There is also a need to support third sector organisations to move into innovative areas of resource management service delivery – ultimately to ‘level the playing field’ between sec-tors in the industry.. Activities: Assist the sector through the provision of a business support programme that will enable organisations to develop sustainable business models through the provision of busi-ness and marketing plans, interim management opportunities, assistance to help form ser-vice level agreements with public bodies such as local authorities and to explore other inno-vative funding mechanisms. Dependant on the level of funding available to the sector, this may also lead to the possibility of a capital grants programme to help address market fail-ures. Zero Waste Scotland will develop an Accredited Reuse Network in line with the re-vised Waste Framework Directive and wider UK initiatives. This will be complemented by investment in frontline reuse infrastructure and support for the CRNS as the leading author-ity on community reuse provision in Scotland. Third sector organisations will also be key partners in the delivery of waste prevention campaigns and Zero Waste Zones initiatives detailed under the Education and Awareness theme. Key outputs & expected outcomes: The main outputs and outcomes from the programme will be projects that are assisted and the level of activity that these projects undertake in the resource management sector. A reuse network will expand access to high-quality and professional reuse services in Scotland. Outcomes will not only be measured in tonnage and carbon but there will also be a need to measure the impact that these organisations have on the wider community as their role will be beyond that of resource management.



Economic opportunity

Mission The aim of this programme is develop a business sector in Scotland that contributes to and is an integral part of a zero waste society. Each work stream under Economic Opportunity is aligned with the Zero Waste Plan with a particular focus on sectors where the programme will have greatest impact. The programme will focus on supporting businesses to minimise the use of primary resources, to become more efficient through taking actions to prevent waste arising and to engage in activities that promote closed loop recycling where possible. Scope and Behaviour Change A significant objective for Zero Waste Scotland is to promote resource efficiency in busi-nesses in Scotland through waste prevention, reuse and recycling, as well as supporting businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities emerging as Scotland moves towards a zero waste society. With a focus on food and drink waste and its value, it is important that this programme highlight waste prevention to all who can influence it. Aligned to this is making the role of packaging and the importance of its optimisation, in the prevention of food waste and use of unnecessary packaging, visible to all who can influence its design, specification and se-lection. Equally, influencing the design of identified resource intensive non-food products to reduce waste and encourage new business models is the logical next step for the pro-gramme. This will require influencing a shift in consumer behaviour as well as working with a number of influential organisations and individuals. A focus on embedding sustainable procurement practices across the public and private sector will enable Zero Waste Scotland to achieve its mission and we will work with partners including Scottish Government to de-velop tools and resources in this area. Principal Outcomes Businesses in Scotland are aware of resources they consume, and they minimise primary resource use resulting in businesses that operate more efficiently and cost effectively. Un-used materials are recycled and the opportunity to use recycled material as an input be-comes a standard consideration. Current Market Assessment and Barriers Increasing resource efficiency in Scottish businesses:

The total number of private sector enterprises in Scotland was 296,780 as at March 2010, a 1.9% increase since March 2009. In the last 10 years, the total number of enterprises increased by 24.8% (59,000 enterprises). The number of SMEs in Scotland was 294,525 as at March 2010. A 1.9% in-crease since March 2009.



SMEs accounted for 99.2% of enterprises, 52.9% of employment and 37.4% of turnover.

Source: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Corporate/KeyFacts Breakdown of SMEs and Large Enterprises in Scotland:

Small Medium Large No. of Employ-ees:

0-49 50-249 250+

No. of Business-es:

290,870 3,655 2,260

Source:Source: Scottish Government, ONS (IDBR) Data from SEPA for 2008, the most recent year on record: Business waste produced in Scotland was 7.78 million tonnes in 2008. It was composed of 72% commercial waste and 28% industrial. This amounts to 40.6% of the total waste pro-duced in Scotland. Top 3 most common waste types from C&I:

MSW and similar, 3,675,855 tonnes (47%) Waste packing, 964,092 tonnes (12%) Agricultural was, including food preparation, 888,661 tonnes (11%)

Top 3 waste generators from Industry sector:

Food and drink (24%) Wood and paper (17%) Water, sewerage and waste management (15%)

Total industry waste: 2,333,680 tonnes Top 3 waste generators from Commercial sector:

Retail and wholesale (33%) Admin, real estate and other services (17%) Hotels (12%)

Total commercial waste: 5,474,818 tonnes Total C&I waste: 7,808,498 tonnes Waste by business size: Business size Waste generated in Percentage of total for



2008 C&I Small (1 – 49 employees) 3,855,131 49% Large (50+ employees) 3,953,367 51% Given that SMEs account for 37% of business turnover in Scotland and more than 50% of business waste, the implication is there exists the opportunity to support the development of efficient strategies with these organisations. The Food & Drink Industry in Scotland: Scotland has a diverse business base of 1,200 companies, including large-scale indigenous players, global inward investors and many smaller firms. The latest annual Scottish Gov-ernment statistics (2008) for the food and drink sector are:

Turnover has risen from £10 billion to £11.2 billion (food and drink manufac-turing increased from £7.5 billion to £8.3 billion and Agriculture and Fishing from £2.5 billion to £2.8 billion) GVA has risen from £4.1 billion to £4.4 billion. This is due to growth in the food and drink manufacturing sector. Productivity – Food and drink manufacturing sector GVA per employee has ris-en from £68.7k to £77.6k strongly outperforming its UK benchmark. Exports have risen to an all-time high of £4.06 billion. While whisky continues to be the top performer, food exports have increased by 20% to £934 million. This is led by fish and seafood which is now valued at £555 million (source: HM Revenue & Customs - UK Regional Trade Statistics (RTS) for Scottish food exports and Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) for whisky exports). Research and development spend (measured by BERD) has fallen from £7.85 million to £6.95 million (source: Scottish Government - Business Enterprise Research and Development Scotland 2008 Tables) Scotland is the second largest salmon producer in the world, landing 70% of UK fish catch, has one quarter of the beef herd and produces 40% of soft fruit. The whisky sector has seen GVA growth of 98% since 2000 and is a major in-ternational player, accounting for 25% of UK exports.

Source: Scottish Government Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) data and Scottish Government Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture Zero Waste Scotland can help Scotland’s business sector understand and identify how to achieve resource efficiency by:

By addressing the management of commercial and industrial waste at a site level Publishing guidance on sustainable waste management best practice Working in partnership with national and local businesses and business sup-port organisations to offer support and guidance to waste producers Encouraging the use of environmental management systems in businesses Provide tools and training on sustainable procurement

Persistent Market failures The economic and environmental cost of wasted resources is not fully recognised and ac-counted for at the level of the business. Opportunities to develop and exploit new technol-ogies may require start-up support.



Grocery Supply Chain (food & drink) Food in the UK is relatively cheap and abundant, and the true (environmental) costs of waste and its disposal are not reflected in the actual costs \ price. The financial costs of waste in the supply chain(s) are incorporated in the selling price, but “hidden” from the consumer and others. There is a lack of consumer or customer demand or pressure, and insufficient incentives to address waste, and a lack of information on the extent of waste within the supply chain and general lack of transparency between different actors in the supply chain. Current and future social, cultural, demographic and retailing trends are in-creasing the pressure for more packaging.


Retail Supply Chain (Grocery and Non Food products) Hospitality Sector (Tourism and Food Service) SME support (non-target sectors) Sustainable Procurement (Public & Private Sector) Supporting innovation

Retail Supply Chain The key objective of this programme in the Retail Grocery Supply Chain will be to optimise resource use, thereby reducing waste across the food and drink supply chain. The focus will be on reducing the environmental impact of food, drink and packaging waste and Zero Waste Scotland will participate in the promotion and development of the UK wide Courtauld Commitment. The work on Courtauld will impact mainly upon the target of 5% reduction of supply chain waste by the end of 2012. This will be delivered through a combination of site-based waste prevention reviews and sectoral initiatives derived from the UK resource maps for fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, pre-prepared foods and drinks. We will work with partners in Scotland Food & Drink, Scottish Enterprise and others to de-velop and pilot supply chain initiatives with key grocery retailers. Zero Waste Scotland will develop further the packaging and waste reviews for SMEs in this sector, offering support in implementation of identified opportunities for resource efficiency. We will continue to moni-tor the reduction in use and recycling of single use carrier bags. Zero Waste Scotland will be actively involved in development of the Home Improvement Sector Commitment, which is focussed on packaging. Zero Waste Scotland will be actively involved a UK wide programme that will focus on the Design of Non Food Products and Packaging. Sectors to be targeted include Textiles & Electrical and Electronic Products; Home and Workplace Products and Facilities Management. Ongoing work will include further increasing the number of signatories to Courtauld 2. Zero Waste Scotland will continue to engage with existing and prospective Courtauld signatories through a key account management approach. The role of the key account manager will be to interact across a business to ensure that the business changes its processes to deliver the objectives of the voluntary agreement and act as a conduit for all Zero Waste Scotland programmes working in the sector.



Zero Waste Scotland will continue to be involved in development of the current Home Im-provement Sector Commitment, which is focussed on packaging. There is currently no responsibility deal in place with retailers on carrier bags, however Zero Waste Scotland will continue to monitor the reduction in use and recycling of single use car-rier bags as part of the wider UK programme and will continue to work with governments, the BRC/SRC and its members to monitor carrier bag use, recycled content and recycling. Zero Waste Scotland will leverage skills in Product and Packaging Design in order to influ-ence the setting of product, packaging, manufacturing and information system specifica-tions and design briefs. The aim is to embed resource efficiency in industrial engineering and product lifecycle design and in over-arching business practices, standards and process-es. This area of activity will be responsible for delivery of the Courtauld 2 target to reduce the carbon impact of packaging by 10% by the end of 2012. This includes primary, second-ary and tertiary packaging as an integral part of the system to deliver the product from its source to the point of consumption (either in or out of home). This area of activity will also play a significant part in making the transition from a separate consideration of product and packaging (for example, separate targets under Courtauld 2) to a more integrated approach as proposed under CC3. The ultimate aim will be to embed resource efficiency in product lifecycle design. CC3 and the Product Research Forum As part of the wider UK programme considering the transition from CC2 to CC3, Zero Waste Scotland will engage business and other stakeholders to ensure that resource efficiency and scarcity is actively considered across the product life cycle, leading to a more efficient and effective use and reuse of finite resources and reducing the need for virgin materials. In order to work out how to do this, the Product Research Forum (PRF, an indus-try/Govt/academia forum) has been established as a collaborative, pre-competitive plat-form for members to work together to better understand and reduce the life cycle environ-mental impacts of everyday products. As a minimum, the scope of the Forum will include grocery and home improvement prod-ucts and businesses, but may extend to other sectors e.g. textiles, furniture, white goods. The PRF will provide helpful guidance and evidence upon which to base a successor to Courtauld 2 and the Home Improvement Sector Commitment (conveniently referred to as CC3). Such an agreement is not an automatic outcome of the PRF. However, during the development of Courtauld 2, stakeholders were very keen that we signal a direction of travel toward a successor agreement that embraces the intended outputs of the PRF. Non-Food Products Programme This UK wide area of activity aims to make resource efficiency an integral part of the design specification process for textiles, electrical & electronic products, and home & workplace products by 2015.



Zero Waste Scotland will achieve this by using collective levers (voluntary agreements, in-dustry and procurement standards, industry forums etc) in conjunction with direct engage-ment with the most influential organisations in each market segment (primarily the major retailers and trade/service suppliers). We will develop the business case (both financial and environmental) for these audiences to take action; help develop the metrics and product category rules to enable a consistent approach to design and reporting of outcomes; help develop procurement and other standard specifications; support the piloting of new solu-tions such as leasing; help organisations identify opportunities for good practice; and facili-tate collective sector engagement (with a view to industry taking a lead in the longer term). Specific areas of activity will be targeted at audiences within: Home & Workplace Products; Facilities Management and Retail Non-Food Products (Textiles and Electrical & Electronic Products). Clothing has a massive environmental impact, including 21 Mt GHG emissions from UK consumption and global production of clothing (and 5 Mt for footwear). The top eight retailers in the specialist clothing segment plus the grocers together sell around one-third of clothing in the UK market. For electrical & electronic products, we will tackle both the commercial and consumer mar-ket segments. These include white goods, ICT and audio-visual equipment as major cate-gories. Packaging waste is significant in this sector. This segment is also important for op-erational energy use, and therefore we will need to select carefully which outcomes to tar-get. For example, life extension may not be a high priority for TVs if this would delay the take-up of more efficient models and run counter to market forces / consumer demand. The top 7 electrical retailers have over 50% share of the UK electricals market, while the top 3 electrical wholesalers have 68% share of their market segment. Therefore, the ap-proach will focus on using the influence of retailers rather than tackling the consumers di-rectly. We will explore whether the opportunity exists to fold these sectors into a wider CC3 volun-tary agreement. Hospitality Sector The Hospitality sector is a new area of focus for Zero Waste Scotland and one that produc-es significant volumes of food and packaging waste. Recent research has shown that UK hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants (QSRs) produced nearly 2.2 million tonnes of mixed waste in 2009.Businesses in the hospitality sector in Scotland produced more than 200,000 tonnes of waste. Over three quarters (77%) of UK hospitality mixed waste is made up of food (41%), paper (14%), glass (13%) and card (9%) Source: WRAP: Sept 2010 Zero Waste Scotland will participate in a UK-wide programme to implement a voluntary agreement in the hospitality sector including the development of an evidence base upon which to prioritise delivery activities and agree targets. The hospitality sector is large and complex and broadly contains a few large suppliers and a multitude of SMEs. An effective voluntary agreement will be developed which has structural commonalities with the Con-struction Commitment which aims to halve waste to landfill. Reduction and recycling of food waste are likely to be priorities for action under this agreement. SMEs will be engaged both through their representative bodies (e.g. Visit Scotland) and through the development



and adaptation of tools and resources made available through the Zero Waste Scotland website. Engagement with SMEs in the sector will be a priority. The first year’s work with the hospitality sector is likely to be limited to waste reduction and management in retailer’s cafes. Once an agreement is in place, this will broaden out. A packaging road map will be developed in conjunction with key players in the supply chain. This will not only be useful in developing the evidence base, but will also provide a prime opportunity to engage with the supply chain to ensure that action can follow. The goal for this area of activity will necessarily go beyond waste prevention. While this is where the maximum environmental and cost benefits can be gained, there is still much progress to be made in improving waste management. This will involve working closely with other Zero Waste Scotland teams (i.e. the Resource Management Sector) to ensure engagement of waste collection and treatment businesses (e.g. anaerobic digestion). With regard to influencing the tourism within the hospitality sector, Zero Waste Scotland will investigate the potential for a kite-marking scheme within the tourism sector and will investigate options for doing this through partners with existing accreditation schemes. SME Support Zero Waste Scotland will provide one comprehensive service that will enable small and me-dium sized enterprises to access a wide range of tools and services to help them to reduce primary resource consumption, reduce waste, recycle more materials and increase the recy-cled content of products and services. This service will provide ‘light touch’ resource effi-ciency support to SMEs operating in all sectors in Scotland. ‘Light touch’ support may in-clude telephone and web-based support, provision of self-help assessments, toolkits, case studies, good practice guidance and other materials, as well as workshops and seminars. SMEs will be offered opportunities to benchmark their resource efficiency against other similar (and different) businesses, and opportunities will be created for peer-to-peer learn-ing and for matching waste resources from one organisation to the resource requirements of another. In delivering this programme we will work closely with partners such as Scot-tish Enterprise, the Carbon Trust and Energy Savings Trust in order to present a cohesive resource efficiency service to businesses in Scotland. This will include reviewing provision of water efficiency advice, which is not initially in Zero Waste Scotland’s remit. For larger businesses and public-sector organisations outside the Zero Waste Scotland tar-get sectors, Zero Waste Scotland will provide a service that will help the organisation to identify key resource efficiency opportunities and the economic benefits of implementing recommendations. It is anticipated that these larger organisations will then be in a position to implement the resource efficiency measures identified without further support from Zero Waste Scotland. Case studies will be developed and published to promote good practice in similar larger public and private sector organisations. Sustainable Procurement The sustainable procurement programme is a new area of activity for Zero Waste Scotland. Zero Waste Scotland will initiate a programme to promote resource efficiency as a part of sustainable procurement policies in larger public and private sector organisations. This will



include sustainable procurement training and rollout to Local Authorities, Health and Educa-tion sectors, working with the Scottish Procurement Directorate to provide follow up, moni-toring and case studies. Training modules will be developed for specific procurement areas and a sustainable procurement toolkit will be developed for the public sector and its private sector suppliers. Supporting innovation Zero Waste Scotland will create a challenge fund to support new innovations in product and packaging design, which have significant potential to reduce primary resource use, reduce waste, or to transform end-of-life recovery options for products and packaging in the mar-ketplace. We will look to develop this fund in partnership with stakeholders so that we do not duplicate existing mechanisms that support innovation in Scotland.



Education and awareness

Education and awareness, as a means of enabling the changes in attitudes and behaviours required to achieve a zero waste society in Scotland, underpins many of the activities within the Zero Waste Scotland programme. Mission This programme will use a range of mechanisms and approaches to engage with individu-als, businesses and communities to enable action and waste-related behaviour change across society. The Zero Waste Scotland Education and Awareness Programme will deliver activity at both national and local levels, working with partners including local authorities, community groups, businesses, schools and further education institutions and other influ-encer networks. Scope and Behaviour Change Through both general and targeted activity, based on robust research and local experience, targeted behaviours will include:

Waste prevention Re-use, Repair and Recycling Litter & Flytipping

Action on these behaviours will help contribute to, and therefore will be aligned with, the Scottish Government’s Public Engagement Strategy for tackling Climate Change. Mechanisms to achieve impact on the above will include, but not be limited to the following:

Work with educational institutions, umbrella bodies, the Curriculum for Excellence and other key players

Targeted campaigns including Love Food Hate Waste, Recycle Now, local Zero Waste Fortnights

A formal Zero Waste Regional Partners Network of local individuals, groups, insti-tutions and businesses to share best practice, boost profile of waste-related issues and ensure maximum collective impact

A Zero Waste Zones award scheme to focus and motivate on-going local partner-ship and action on prevention, recycling and key themes most relevant to each locale

Strategic support for Local Authorities (campaigns strategy, effective local com-munication, tapping into local networks, sharing best practice, gathering local input to Zero Waste Scotland campaign planning, strategic guidance on procurement, in-frastructure etc.)

Key strategic partnerships and joint working with WRAP England/Cymru/Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government and others to share research, evaluation, leverage in-kind contributions to maximise impact and avoid duplication of effort

Principal Outcomes A permanent shift in waste-related behaviour and activity at all levels of society, through increased awareness and understanding of issues and impact. This will result in:

Less waste to landfill due to better public and cross-sector awareness and activity to prevent waste



Increased local recycling rates / improving infrastructure, due to public demand for recycling services and facilities, based on sophisticated understanding of recycling behaviours

Reduced litter and increasing lack of social acceptability of littering behaviour Increasingly sophisticated approach by Local Authorities to local communications to

support behaviour change and more joined-up working across Council departments Innovative local and national initiatives A Scotland-wide network of key stakeholders from all sectors working locally and

joining up nationally to address waste-related issues and behaviours A substantial collection of Scottish local case studies on best practice, successful pilot

programmes scaled-up and targets met to share across the UK and with international partners

An increase in individual, public sector, private sector and other stakeholder aware-ness and use of re-used items

Progressive ‘stepping back’ of Zero Waste Scotland campaigns staff from local deliv-ery of campaigns, due to successful growth of network and partner capacity and embedding of key messages in behaviour; this will result in an exponential increase in local ‘champions’ and groups taking forward key campaign messages and action themselves.

Current Barriers

Local Authorities are under increasing budgetary pressures and communications work and recycling could become less of a priority.

There is wide variation in local waste delivery infrastructure which limits the scope for joined-up or national messages and increases confusion with consumers (i.e. some of what they can recycle in one local authority they cannot in another)

There is wide variation in consumer understanding of waste-related issues and vary-ing motivations for change, linked to wider challenges around communicating climate change issues and enabling behaviour change.

There is a need to grow capacity within the Third Sector to support local delivery of campaigns and messages.

There is an opportunity to connect zero waste messaging much more closely with sustainability, education or community wellbeing issues, rather than just within a waste context.

There are gaps in evidence and understanding of potential links between household food waste collections and impact on other waste-related consumer behaviours, in particular any impact on subsequent reduction in household food waste.


1. Food 2. Waste Prevention 3. Litter & Flytipping 4. Recycling, Repair, Re-use 5. Local Authority Support 6. Regional Partnerships and Volunteers 7. Education



Food Objective: To raise awareness and enable activity to prevent and reduce household and business food waste. Rationale: Zero Waste Scotland food waste trackers show that the Scottish public wastes nearly 1/3 of all food they buy, and that most people are unaware of how much food they waste. The success of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign to date, illustrates that most people are willing to address this issue when presented with clear evidence and easy op-tions to take action. Upcoming Scottish Local Authority food waste collection roll-outs, plans for more targeted research and the establishment of a Zero Waste Network form strong foundations for scaling-up food waste work in Scotland, through Love Food Hate Waste and other means. Outputs: Work going forward will be increasingly linked with WRAP work across the UK, with UK-wide retailers and partners and others to take advantage of scalable opportunities. Zero Waste Scotland is leading on development of one single Love Food Hate Waste web-site, which will both provide a platform for more joined-up, equitable working by all nations and will establish a model for establishing a majority of funding for a communications tool which is independent of central government funding. Other key outputs for the year will in-clude media and communications work, collaboration on development of future Scottish Government food-related campaigns, regular food waste trackers and evaluation of impact, campaign support for Local Authority food waste collection roll-outs, production of tools and materials and a focus on working across WRAP and Zero Waste Scotland teams to take full advantage of opportunities to work with sectors like retail, construction and hospitality. Waste Prevention Objective: To motivate and enable consumers, businesses and others to prevent waste in the first place. Rationale: Waste prevention is the holy grail of waste-related behaviour change work. When consumers understand, accept and act to prevent waste in the first place, there is decreased need for waste management infrastructure and budget, reduction in litter, and cost saving to consumers themselves. In short, if individuals and communities understand and accept that they can take action that benefits them in a way that appeals to them, less influence from outside players is necessary. This programme will focus on: raising awareness and understanding of the impact of waste; undertaking further research to establish key motivations for individuals and groups to fo-cus on waste prevention; developing messages and actions to reach target audiences through events, inclusion in the range of Zero Waste Scotland campaigns; and contributing to the launch of the Scottish Government’s Waste Prevention Plan. Waste prevention work will be a requirement of any group or organisation taking part in Ze-ro Waste Scotland’s new Zero Waste Zones scheme, and initial benchmarking work will en-able future measurement of related behaviour change both locally and nationally. Outputs: Research, evaluation, personnel and local support for the upcoming Scottish Government Waste Prevention Plan launch, national Greener campaigns; development and adaptation of the Scottish Government’s 'Naturally Resourceful' narrative for use in Zero Waste Scotland general campaigns, particularly around prevention; segmented research in



targeted areas and demographics to identify barriers to waste prevention; a general ap-proach to waste prevention that will allow work across a range of partners, sectors and waste streams not addressed by other campaigns (refuse collectors, construction workers, workplaces etc). Litter & Flytipping Objective: To play a strategic role in establishing increasingly efficient and effective com-munications, systems and activity to reduce litter and flytipping in Scotland. Rationale: Litter is regularly cited by the public as a prominent concern, and nearly 50% of Scottish adults admit to littering. Zero Waste Scotland will play a strategic role in working with and through existing partners (KSB, SEPA, the Scottish Government, transport provid-ers, national parks etc), in identifying gaps in delivery or knowledge, and undertaking re-search and evaluation, development of guidance and campaigns and other work to address these gaps. Outputs: These will include: development of national litter-related campaigns; promotion of recently-launched flytipping guidance; evaluation and scaling-up of the current Recycling on the Go pilot; inclusion of litter as a key theme for local partnerships to focus on; estab-lishment of effective methodology to assess litter-related behaviour change; key strategic facilitation of revised nation-wide systems for measure of Flycapture and subsequent re-porting/data available; evaluation of the impact on flytipping of upcoming Scottish Gov-ernment landfill bans, with potential recommendations and support to the Scottish Govern-ment; work with Scottish Local Authorities, public bodies, businesses and wider public to improve Recycling on the Go facilities and public understanding and usage of these. Recycling, Repair, Re-use Objective: To reduce waste to landfill and shift the general view of waste as a problem to a view of waste a resource by enabling consumers, communities, businesses, the Third Sec-tor and others to recycle, repair and re-use a range of products. Rationale: High levels of consumer awareness and understanding of recycling has contrib-uted to steadily improved local and national recycling rates. Through working with a range of existing projects and partners, identifying opportunities to build on public understanding of recycling, highlighting existing resources and other means, Zero Waste Scotland will boost the profile of re-use, repair and recycling to further impact behaviour. Outcomes: Grants to local groups to roll out recycling/repair/re-use work; development and rollout of Scottish Recycle Now materials, potential development of presence on WRAP website or development of a Scottish one, development of key tools, local marketing; be-haviour trackers and evaluation of impact of tools, local communications and national cam-paigns; partnerships with third sector and community organisations to develop and promote re-used items; local and national re-use and recycling events. Local Authority Support Objective: To support Scottish Local Authorities in maximising public use of existing or new waste infrastructure, raising public awareness and understanding of collection systems and of prevention measures to reduce overall waste arisings locally.



Rationale: Zero Waste Scotland is in a unique position to provide key support, resources and a national perspective to Scottish Local Authority work. Support will include: delivery of local campaigns strategy, project management of related comms work and brokering of ac-cess to temporary staff to roll out local campaigns and deliver key messages. Other options for support are likely to include provision of training for key staff in other Council depart-ments (for example, PR/Comms staff who could provide in-house support) and encouraging more joined-up thinking across Council departments (Sustainability, Education, Economic Development etc.) to reflect wider Zero Waste Scotland and partner work to shift the gen-eral public view of waste as an issue that touches many aspects of society. Outcomes: Provision of campaigns strategy support, project management (logistics for lo-cal authority communications, printing, temp staff to carry out public information work); possible capital grants to Local Authorities rolling out food waste collections, to enable them to adopt best practice; training for LA staff to support food waste campaigns; partnership work to develop branding for local use which is consistent with national themes; waste analysis on behalf of LAs; pilot projects, where possible; evaluation of effectiveness of new infrastructure rollouts; collection and sharing of case studies and best practice; set-up and facilitation of a CoSLA LA Campaigns group to meet regularly for both peer support and to feed into Zero Waste Scotland planning and campaigns. Regional Partnerships and Volunteers Objective: To create a nation-wide network of individuals and groups who work together to make Scotland a genuinely zero waste society, where all resources, including waste are valued and used responsibly. Rationale: Zero Waste Scotland is creating a new volunteer scheme in which local groups are given funding to hire a coordinator to nurture growth of a local volunteer network that is linked into our wider, national strategic focus. These volunteers will be able to localise Zero Waste Scotland campaigns for more effective local delivery and behaviour change im-pact. Zero Waste Zones is a new award scheme to enable people across Scotland to work to-gether to make it the world’s leading zero waste society. It will help Scotland to achieve its challenging waste reduction targets by enabling local people to work together to improve their local and national environment, and to better understand and use waste as a resource rather than see it as a problem. Zero Waste Zones will reflect each location’s unique issues, strengths and aspirations through individually tailored action plans that are aspirational, measured and challenging. Assessment against targets and achievements will be on-going. To achieve Zero Waste Zone status, real change, engagement and continuing progress to-ward aims must be demonstrated. To achieve and maintain the award, groups must demonstrate evidence of shifts in local waste related behaviour, an increase in general awareness of issues related to zero waste and use of resources, and demonstrable benefits to local communities. Outcomes: Funding of local Volunteer Coordinators to set up and manage local volunteer pools to partner for delivery of campaigns across Scotland; methodology for measuring im-pact of local activity facilitated by Zero Waste Scotland; support and training to ensure growing capacity for understanding of outcomes and reporting by local groups; develop-ment and launch of Zero Waste Zones award scheme, to work locally toward collective aims; a greater range of local partners and mechanisms to embed key waste messages lo-



cally; a decreasing need for intervention and direct support from Zero Waste Scotland as local groups and networks gain greater capacity to work together and to work more effec-tively. Education Objective: To work with educational institutions, bodies, stakeholders and key partners to embed zero waste messages and learning in curriculum and programmes at all levels across Scotland. Rationale: Working at all levels of education will create better waste awareness to equip the next generation of people in Scotland to tackle waste issues in their own lives, their communities and even in their choice of career. By embedding relevant messages and learning in school curriculum and in specific college and university programmes, students will be equipped with understanding that can be translated into practical application in working toward zero waste. Outcomes: Work with key players in the education sector to shape and develop new waste reduction messages for the Curriculum for Excellence; work with umbrella bodies to raise the profile of waste issues in Further/Higher education, to impact facilities management within institutions; to work with individual college and university programmes and projects to give students hands-on understanding and qualifications in the field of waste.



Communications

The primary function of the communications team is to work with the programme teams, helping deliver their behaviour change objectives by providing in-house communications expertise and resource. This year, we will continue to maximise work through partners, in-fluencers and community groups to amplify our message. We will also continue to make full use of digital channels, including a new open-source web platform and customer relation-ship management system to deliver more personalised, measurable and cost effective communications. In addition, we provide the framework for successful delivery of all our programmes by providing infrastructure (such as our website and helpline) and delivering engagement that crosses programme areas. Providing this central framework ensures that we drive synergies and cost savings, prevent duplication of effort/ activity, are accountable to our funders and stakeholders and able to maximise the impact of activities relevant to more than one pro-gramme. Key activities in 2011-12 include:

Supporting behaviour change activities outlined in the four programme areas PR - We will provide a core media relations service engaging proactively with the

media, as well as responding to enquiries, and monitoring coverage Reporting / transparency - including production of Delivery and Business Plans

and an Annual Report Second Annual Zero Waste Scotland Conference Developing the Zero Waste Scotland brand with key audience segments, for ex-

ample by sponsoring the VIBES awards scheme and SCDI Annual Forum Partner and stakeholder engagement including Scottish Government, mainstream

enterprise agencies, other energy or resource efficiency bodies, local authorities, community organisations and trade bodies.

Research and information

Zero Waste Scotland, working in partnership with other bodies including SEPA, Scottish Government and other resource management research experts, proposes to commission significant research across the programmes, including work to prioritise resources and sectors based on the carbon metric and to produce better data and analysis of resource use, waste arisings and waste flows in the C&I sector in Scotland. Research into resource flows and to identify good practice in the hospitality sector will contribute to the development of programmes for the sector. Recognising that a number of areas for research and analysis will reflect issues that are common across the UK, Zero Waste Scotland proposes to participate in WRAP studies that also cover England and the other devolved administrations in areas such as review the success of ‘behaviour change’ measures, identifying good practice in promoting waste minimization and recycling, consumer surveys and reports into the markets for recyclates.



The research and information manager will be responsible for producing Scotland-focused reports and data disaggregated from UK-wide work undertaken by WRAP.

Strategy and Planning

As part of our thought leadership activity, Zero Waste Scotland will carry out research on resource efficiency that will underpin our future direction. For example, in 2010-11, we par-ticipated in the completion of a key project on how resource efficiency actions can reduce the consumption of scarce materials in the UK economy. We are also working with external stakeholders to develop a methodology to work out the economic and environmental bene-fits of reuse. In addition, we are working with WWF to understand the water impacts of the food we waste in the UK. In 2011-12, the programme will primarily build on this research, by looking in more detail at the primary material impacts of products of importance to the Zero Waste Plan. This would help identify hot spots where action can be taken to conserve or recover certain scarce ma-terials. It will also consider how to build a narrative around sustainable consumption.

Governance

The Scottish Government and the Zero Waste Scotland Programme Board are accountable for informing and endorsing the content of the Zero Waste Scotland Annual Operating Plan and ensure that it is aligned to the strategic direction, priority actions and timescales detailed within Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan. The Scottish Government is accountable for approval of the annual budget. The Zero Waste Scotland Programme Board is accountable for any changes to the Annual Operating Plan to ensure compliance with changes to Scottish Government policy, and for the staged review of phases in the delivery of the Annual Operating Plan. The WRAP UK Board is accountable for the delivery and evaluation of the programmes. The Zero Waste Scotland Director is responsible for the development of the programme and the Annual Operating Plan, and for the delivery and evaluation of the individual workstreams. The Zero Waste Scotland Director is responsible for reporting on progress against the agreed Annual Operating Plan, on a quarterly basis, to both the Scottish Government and the Zero Waste Scotland Programme Board. Zero Waste Scotland will seek to have Zero Waste Scotland Programme Board Members acting as ‘ambassadors’ for the Zero Waste Scotland programme, and to make the most of links into partner organisations to promote zero waste objectives.



Costs & budgets

An outline programme-level budget is listed in Appendix B. The overall programme budget for 2011-12 is £25M, initially based on a reduction of approximately 10% on the 2010/11 budget of £23.4M, although with £4m additional funding allocated to support councils with the roll-out of food waste collections. The core programme savings represent the benefit of some rationalisation of programmes and also significant savings from rationalisation of the overhead costs which were distributed, and in some cases duplicated, across delivery bodies. The indicative total ‘overhead’ cost of the Zero Waste Scotland programme is £900k.

Documents

Zero Waste Scotland Programme Plan 2011-15 Programme Plan 2011-15.pdf · business plan and programmes that Zero Waste Scotland will establish to achieve the outcomes required