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The independent review of the role of incineration in Scotland’s waste hierarchy made it clear that Scotland does not need additional municipal waste incineration facilities to treat our unavoidable and unrecyclable municipal residual waste, beyond those for which planning permission has already been granted, with very limited exceptions.

That is why we introduced restrictions on energy from waste developments in National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which came into effect on 13 February 2023. This sets out that development proposals for energy from waste facilities will not be supported except in limited circumstances where a national or local need has been sufficiently demonstrated (e.g. in terms of capacity need or carbon benefits) as part of a strategic approach to residual waste management.

SEPA cannot issue a Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permit in respect of a waste incineration facility in the absence of planning permission. Introduction of restrictions on developments in NPF4, therefore, also prevent PPC permits being issued for new facilities in line with recommendation 4 of the incineration review, which noted that the Scottish Government should ensure that no further planning permission (i.e. beyond that already in place) is granted to incineration infrastructure within the scope of the Review unless balanced by an equal or greater closure of capacity, with very limited exceptions.

Any consumer that returns a scheme article is eligible for the deposit to be refunded.

This means that the deposit forms part of the consideration for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) article donated to charity.

It is for the donor to consider whether they wish to charge for the deposit or include as part of the donation.

We are engaging with industry and third sector organisations where there are questions on the flow of deposits. Scotland's DRS is based on similar deposit return schemes which operate in 44 other states or territories worldwide.

Scotland’s seabird populations are an important part of our natural heritage and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government.

We recognise that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has had a substantial impact on wild birds and comes at a time when seabird populations in Scotland and globally are facing increasing challenges from a range of anthropogenic and natural pressures. The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI on wild birds. This includes development of the HPAI in wild birds response plan which sets out the approach that the Scottish Government and its agencies will take to respond to an outbreak of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, further action is required to build resilience in our seabird populations. Through the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative we will take action to reduce and where possible eliminate bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, in UK fisheries. Research is being undertaken into the impacts of seabird bycatch in Scottish longlines and we are working with the sector on implementing mitigation and continue to gather data through onboard observers.

The developing Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy will play an important role in identifying further actions to help optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland from existing and emerging threats, including disease threats, such as avian influenza. We aim to consult on the strategy in due course.

Zero Waste Scotland are currently working with businesses from the initial round of applications and an announcement on the outcome will be made in due course.

As set out in Section 8 of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 , SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.

Section 8(5) of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 sets out that SEPA must publish and maintain a list of registered producers in such manner as it considers appropriate. The Regulations do not specify a date or deadline by which that publication must be made publicly available. SEPA remains committed to make this available on their website before the scheme goes live in August 2023.

Circularity Scotland are a private non-profit organisation and therefore decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart. The Scottish Government does not hold information on whether Circularity Scotland has consulted with the Competitions and Markets Authority on this matter.

As stipulated under the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, Circularity Scotland (CSL) is a private non-profit organisation and is not subject to the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. As such, no contractual obligations can be imposed.

The Scottish Government has a number of retail operations such as staff canteens that sell drinks containers and therefore, like other organisations, is working with Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) to prepare for the launch of Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in August.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations state that any return point operator must retain scheme packaging for collection by, or on behalf of, a producer or a scheme administrator.