Circular economy will help create jobs and protect environment

Reacting to launch of the Scottish Government consultation on the circular economy, Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“Moving towards a circular economy is the next logical step in delivering a Zero Waste Scotland. It will help us use materials more efficiently, reduce climate emissions and create local jobs.

“There are many welcome ideas in this consultation from better product design to encouraging new networks of repair businesses and from safeguarding the quality of materials collected for recycling to cracking down on the dumping of old mattresses.

“After a previous strong report on the feasibility of deposit systems for packaging it is disappointing that the government is proposing yet more research rather than committing now to introduce the kind of system that already works well in other countries.

“The document mentions incineration as a last resort option but the forward-thinking ideas proposed need to be introduced quickly if Scotland is to avoid building a number of new incinerators, which would lock us in to wasteful patterns of consumption for decades.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Scottish Government consultation: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/zero-waste-delivery/making-things-last/

2. The Circular Economy is defined as an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.

3. FoES response to the Scottish Government’s report on deposit and return systems for packaging: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/packaging-deposit-scheme

4. Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
* Scotland's leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups.