Author: Sarah Groom

Public Health Scotland (PHS) have published guidance on the public health management of hepatitis A infection. 

It is available on the PHS website and can be accessed using this link: Guidance for the public health management of hepatitis A 

It was produced collaboratively by a multi-disciplinary Guidance Development Group who used Health protection guidance: method for guidance development. A full methods statement is available in the guidance. 

This guidance is for all professionals involved in the public health response to hepatitis A cases and outbreaks.   

Key messages about this guidance: 

• It serves as a standalone guide for the public health management of hepatitis A in Scotland.
  • The UKHSA Guidance for the Public Health Management of Hepatitis A provides the evidence base for the recommendations in this guidance.  
• It is aligned with UKHSA advice on case and contact definitions for use by public health professionals, exclusion, hygiene measures, and eligibility for prophylaxis. 
• A new laboratory and testing section has been developed to outline recommendations and pathways specific to Scotland. 
• A new risk assessment tool has been included for assessing food handler contacts after 14 days of exposure.  
• A new section providing advice on ‘blood, tissue and cell donation’ is available in the guidance (this is not featured in the UKHSA guidance). It provides advice on liaising with Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) when: 
  • Hepatitis A cases or contacts have recently donated blood, tissue or cells or hepatitis A outbreaks or clusters are suspected. 
  • Asymptomatic cases have been identified through SNBTS plasma for medicines universal screening programme. 
• An Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) was undertaken to consider any unintended or differential impact arising from implementing the recommendations in the guidance and includes mitigations where negative impacts have been identified. 
• A standardised national surveillance questionnaire for hepatitis A is currently under development to support the use of the guidance.

Message from REHIS President Alan Morrison

Dear REHIS members

I am delighted to be taking up the role of REHIS President, in the Institutes 150th year and thank you for your continued support to our professional Institute. It seems a long time ago since I embarked on my environmental health career with Moray District Council with the ambition to make a difference to public health, help people, have an enjoyable job and, one day maybe, be President of REHIS. Thanks for giving me this opportunity and will work hard to support the work of REHIS and serve you, as we rely on your membership.

One of our early priorities was considering how we celebrate our 150 years of REHIS  (established in 1983 after the merger of the Sanitary Association of Scotland (founded on 20 January 1875) and the Scottish Institute of Environmental Health set up in 1973). My thanks to all members of our Working Group and our plans were highlighted to members in a communication from the Chief Executive and via this link CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF PROTECTING THE SCOTTISH POPULATION – REHIS. This will cumulate in our 150-anniversary Forum (“Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future”) and dinner in September, when the Institute timeline will be launched. 

Other priorities for this year include the Institutes finances, the qualification pathways to environmental health including discussions on the degree and possible MSc route;  engaging with our members, training centres and stakeholders; and delivering our Strategic Plan.  The current financial climate has impacted many businesses, local authorities and families, and REHIS is no different.  We rely on healthy membership levels and income from our community training program to deliver and extend the professional qualification/ competency of the profession, support you and to promote environmental health. Work is ongoing in both these areas. Retaining your membership and attracting new members is essential and our Membership Action Plan seeks to target these areas. Your continued support and REHIS membership would be appreciated, and I encourage you to promote the benefits of REHIS membership to your peers and welcome your ideas on what more REHIS can do for you.

I look forward to working closely with our Senior Vice President, Lindsey-Anne McNeill, our Junior Vice President, John Murray;  members of Council (old and new) and all members on a very busy programme of work in the coming year.  

Let’s all work together in promoting the profession, the Institute and celebrating our 150th year!

Continuing Professional Development

CPD submissions for calendar year 2024 require to be with the Institute by 31 January 2025.

The Institute’s Scheme of CPD provides a way for Members of the Institute to evidence their ongoing professional development in an independently assessed way. For EHOs this also offers a means to achieve Chartered EHO status. We encourage all members to submit their CPD through the REHIS website, members only section. For information about the updated CPD scheme please CPD – REHIS

Community Training

The Institute is holding the Presenters Update Seminar (in person) on 12 March 2025 at the COSLA conference Centre, Edinburgh. Provisionally scheduled are a variety of speakers from Industry, Environmental Health, Allergy Action, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and REHIS to present on a wide range of topics in Food Hygiene, HACCP, Health and Safety and other related topics. The booking information has been sent out to all centres but for more information, please contact the Director of Training.

REHIS Staff Vacancies There are two vacant positions at REHIS, please see details here Vacancies – REHIS. If anyone is at all interested in either of these positions, but wish more information, please contact the Chief

According to a study published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, links the outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 in the UK in May-June 2024 to pre-packed sandwiches.

In May 2024, public health agencies and laboratories identified an increase in stool specimens submissions and patients testing positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) identified serotype O145:H28 stx2a/eae as the causative agent. It was a re-emergence of an STEC cluster investigated in 2023, where no source could be confirmed, said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

By early July 2024, 288 cases had been linked to the cluster. Most were adults and females, 129 people were hospitalised with 39 percent attending emergency care. England had more than 180 cases, while about 60 people were sick in Scotland, 30 in Wales, and a few in Northern Ireland.

Symptom onset dates of primary cases ranged from April 29 to June 17. They had a median age of 29 and ranged from 1 to 89 years old. There were nine cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and two deaths.

Since 2020, STEC O145:H28 has been in the top five most common E. coli serotypes reported in England and Scotland.

Descriptive epidemiology and analytical studies identified consumption of nationally distributed pre-packed sandwiches as a common food exposure. The implicated food businesses recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches and wraps containing lettuce in mid-June.

Eleven of 15 cases interviewed with a trawling questionnaire reported eating pre-packaged sandwiches from different national retailers.

Food chain investigations identified the sandwich producer that supplied the retailers during May 2024. The producer had sourced lettuce from farms in England.

Domestically produced apollo lettuce was the most likely source of contamination. Samworth Brothers, This! and Greencore Group recalled a range of sandwich products.

Location of an animal reservoir or mechanisms of crop contamination are currently unclear. Possible routes include a failure in control measures protecting the crop from agricultural run-off, contamination of water or growing materials used in lettuce production, or contaminated seeds. 

Test results have been negative for STEC but general or indicator E. coli was identified in sandwich and lettuce products, indicating a possible contamination event.

A message posted in European surveillance systems revealed none of the 13 countries that replied were affected.

Ready-to-eat salad vegetables are vulnerable to contamination with pathogens at the pre-harvest level via flooding, rainwater run-off, or irrigation water containing animal feces. Current methods for washing and decontaminating fresh produce cannot guarantee that pathogens will be removed. Controls to minimize the risk of fecal contamination during growing, handling, and processing are important.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) have published Health protection guidance: method for guidance development.

This method sets out how health protection guidance should be developed in Scotland. It combines and updates the six previous method documents grouped under the SHPN framework for health protection guidance development.

PHS have brought together all guidance for health protection within this document and simplified the process of development.

This method is intended to instruct all those involved in guidance development, in Public Health Scotland (PHS) and across the Scottish Health Protection Network (SHPN).

It is available on the PHS website and can be accessed using this link: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/health-protection-guidance-method-for-guidance-development/health-protection-guidance-method-for-guidance-development/

A full set of related resources (e.g. templates and forms we use in our work) is also provided: Supporting resources – Developing our guidance

Any feedback on the method can be sent to phs.guidance@phs.scot.  

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are to be revised and updated to give consumers a clearer picture of their home’s energy performance and to link better with the drive to cut emissions from homes and buildings.

Changes proposed include the introduction of a new rating system which will give clearer information on the fabric energy efficiency of a property; the emissions, efficiency and running costs of its heating system; and the cost of energy to run the home.

The EPC format will also be redesigned to make it easier to understand, and the validity of EPCs will be reduced from ten to five years to ensure consumers have more up-to-date information.

EPC Reform Consultation: Government Response

Subject to Parliamentary approval, the new regulations, new EPC rating system and redesigned certificates are expected to be brought into force during 2026.

 Proposed changes include:

• a new EPC rating system for domestic buildings, which will give clearer information on the fabric energy efficiency of a property; the emissions, efficiency and running costs of its heating system; and the cost of energy to run the home to standardised conditions;
• a new EPC rating system for non-domestic buildings;
• a redesigned EPC certificate, based on a first phase of user testing, and to be followed by a second phase prior to regulations coming into force;
• reduction of the validity period of EPCs from 10 to five years to ensure consumers have more up-to-date information;
• development of a new dynamic EPC user interface to sit alongside the published EPC;
• introduction of strengthened operational governance arrangements for EPC assessors and Approved Organisations to enhance quality assurance for consumers;
• establishing a new technical infrastructure to replace the current Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) with the new UK Home Energy Model (HEM) calculation methodology, together with a new EPC Register, where we will share significant parts with the UK Government;

A previous consultation considered proposals to reform EPCs so that they better support Scotland’s journey to net zero.

A technical consultation will follow on the level of EPC lodgement fees to support new, critical technical infrastructure. This will also give stakeholders a further opportunity to contribute to the development of the new regulations.

EPCs in Scotland remain a source of information only, unlike in other parts of the UK where they are linked to minimum energy efficiency standards.

The Scottish Health Protection Network (SHPN) guidance for Public health management of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection has been updated.

The guidance is intended for all professionals involved in the health protection or public health response to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) cases and outbreaks including environmental health departments.

The guidance includes information on:

• case and contact definitions for use by public health professionals
• recommended public health actions for cases and contacts
• outbreak identification and response

Updates to the guidance include:

• Section added in recognition of relative difference in severity in relation to stx subtype
• Higher risk category for children expanded from under 5 years to 5 and under (up to sixth birthday)
• No public health action beyond enhanced surveillance form ​to be taken on stx negative O157
• Asymptomatic testing of the whole population in a setting (e.g. an entire nursery class) not routinely recommended
• New section on health inequalities

Actions aimed at ensuring households and businesses in Scotland boost reuse and recycling rates and cut waste have been published.

The Circular Economy and Waste Route Map sets out 11 priority areas where efforts and resources will be concentrated to support a transition to a circular economy – where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. 

The 11 priority areas are:

1. Publish a Product Stewardship Plan to set out how we will tackle the environmental impact of priority products by 2025/26
2. Develop an intervention plan to guide long-term work on household food waste reduction behaviour change by 2026/27
3. Develop with stakeholders’ effective options to implement mandatory reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses from 2025/26
4. Support the development of a model for regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets from 2025-2027
5. Facilitate a co-design process for high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services, 2024 – 2026
6. Review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements, 2026
7. Co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provisions, commencing by 2030
8. Develop a Residual Waste Plan to 2045, by 2027
9. Facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the carbon impacts of the energy from waste sector, by 2027
10. Develop a circular economy strategy every five years, with first one published in 2026
11. Set new circular economy targets by 2027

The Route Map is the product of extensive collaboration and engagement with the public, private and third sectors through two consultations since 2022, with consistently high levels of support for the proposals.

The overall recycling rate in Scotland is at its highest level since records began in 2011, and the actions in the Route Map complement provisions in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, which was passed unanimously by MSPs in June.  

Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin launched the Route Map at a visit to Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh, which upcycles discarded wooden furniture into new items.

She said: “Reusing and recycling materials has a huge role to play in Scotland’s response to tackling the climate crisis. 

“We must make the circular option, where we value materials and keep them in use for as long as possible, either in their original form or recycled, an easier choice for Scottish households, businesses and the public sector.

“The Route Map sets out an ambitious plan to help make this a reality and I want to thank all those who have contributed to its development.

“There have been consistently high levels of support for its actions, which promote and support responsible production and consumption, along with the sustainable management of Scotland’s resources – and the final route map will be key to supporting the Scottish Government’s net zero and economic growth goals.”

Helene van der Ploeg, CEO of the Grassmarket Community Project said: “We pride ourselves on our initiatives to repurpose, recycle and reuse through our wood workshop, and Tartan shop. Old furniture, church pews and fallen trees are donated and re-worked into beautiful pieces of furniture or small household items. Leftover tartan from weavers, and donated fabric scraps are handcrafted into beautiful gifts.

“These materials, once considered waste and destined for landfill, are now valuable contributors to the circular economy. Thanks to generous donations, we’re recycling these materials, giving them new purpose, and creating timeless treasures that will be passed down through generations.

“Along the way, we generate income, provide essential skills training for our members (beneficiaries) and volunteers, all of which embodies and reinforces the values of the Route Map and our commitment to the circular economy.”

On 20 December, new legislation was introduced that will help prevent around 200 cases of debilitating brain and spine defects in babies each year in the UK by fortifying non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid.

The legislation requires millers and flour producers in the UK to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid by the end of 2026. 

Folic acid deficiency is a leading cause of neural tube defects in babies, including spina bifida. Increasing a woman’s intake of folic acid can help prevent these serious and debilitating conditions.

Flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin, thiamin and iron to improve public health. The move to include folic acid could help to reduce neural tube defects by 20% in the UK and improve the health of pregnant women.

This work forms part of a wider Defra led review of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 conducted under the Food Compositional Standards and Labelling (FCSL) UK Common Framework, working collaboratively with the devolved Governments and Department of Health and Social Care. 

It included a UK-wide public consultation with the proposals also notified to the World Trade Organisation, fulfilling international obligations.   

The key changes include: 

• Technical amendments to clarify requirements and definitions, to ensure consistency with other food standards legislation including increasing minimum levels of nutrients and updating specification criteria, enabling understanding and compliance.  
• Update to the compositional rules of wholemeal flour, removing barriers to compliance while maintaining consumer protection.  
• An exemption from fortification requirements for small-scale millers (producing less than 500 metric tonnes of flour per annum). This removes disproportionate burden on smaller scale producers without compromising the public health outcomes of the policy.  
• Introducing the use of improvement notices in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is a more proportionate and efficient way to address non-compliance and reduces risk of excessive costs associated with court time when criminal proceedings are brought. In Scotland equivalent measures in the form of compliance notices have already been introduced. 

Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government will continue to engage with the food industry to support them to implement the changes, which will apply to the whole of the UK. Legislation has been laid in England and Northern Ireland, and Wales intend to lay similar legislation soon.. 

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “Ministers have long advocated for the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to help prevent foetal neural tube defects such as spina bifida – so I am glad to be able to introduce new legislation to help give babies the best start in life. It is also vital that women who are planning a pregnancy or are newly pregnant continue to take a folic acid supplement.

“We have closely collaborated with Food Standards Scotland, the UK Government and other devolved Governments to introduce a measure which strengthens public health. We will continue to engage with the industry on implementation to ensure the best outcomes.”

Lawrence Cowan, Chief Executive of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland said: “We welcome the announcement by the Scottish Government today that folic acid will be added to flour from 2026 onwards. Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland has campaigned for folic acid fortification for over 30 years, and this decision will have a life-changing effect for many future parents and children across Scotland. 

“Adding folic acid to flour will give women and their unborn children the best possible opportunities to be healthy. Folic acid fortification has proven effective in other countries, and in the UK this measure could prevent around 200 pregnancies affected by neural tube defects. It is important that we keep to the proposed timeline for introducing this legislation to ensure that we can have the broadest impact on families in Scotland.

“This is a momentous moment, and we will continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Government, Food Standards Scotland and other relevant bodies.”

It is estimated that half of all pregnancies in the UK are unplanned. The new flour regulations will help provide women with a higher baseline intake of folic acid, before and during pregnancy. 

However, it is important to note that the NHS still recommends women who are trying to get pregnant or newly pregnant to continue to regularly take the recommended dose of folic acid supplements.

All women who are trying for a baby should regularly take folic acid supplements for around three months before getting pregnant, and for at least 12 weeks after becoming pregnant.  These are readily available through pharmacies or supermarkets. The fortification of flour is intended to support, not replace, this advice.

On 1 January, The Health and Safety Executive celebrated its 50^th Anniversary.

Created by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was officially launched on 1^st January 1975.

For the last 50 years it has played a central role in reducing workplace death and injury, helping Great Britain become one of the safest places in the world to work. In 1974, 651 employees were killed at work; HSE’s latest annual statistics for 2023/24 show that number had reduced to 138.

Sarah Albon, chief executive of HSE, has said that despite the transformation of Britain’s workplaces over the past half century, the mission of the regulator remains as relevant as ever.

Sarah said: “Over the past half century, the Health and Safety Executive has led the way in establishing Great Britain as a safe place to work. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we recognise there is still much for HSE to take on.

“We’re proud of our successes over the last five decades, but the fact remains that any work-related death is a tragedy, and there are still far too many workers suffering ill-health brought about by work activity.

“In 2022, we launched our 10-year strategy, Protecting People and Places, to build on HSE’s strong foundations and address our current and future challenges.

“So today, HSE’s role goes beyond worker protection to include public safety assurance on a range of issues. Recent years have added new responsibilities, such as becoming the appointed Building Safety Regulator and playing an extended role in chemical regulation, post Brexit.

“It is hard to foresee what the world of work will look like in the next 50 years but as ever, our fundamental principle will continue to be to make sure that those who create risk, take responsibility for controlling risk, and those who fail to do so will be held to account.

“We will continue to work with businesses, with industry, with other regulators and with government, to enable strong economic growth, while we continue to deliver our founding principles as we work to protect people and places.”

The Scottish Government have launched a public consultation how best to further regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures (NSCP) to improve client safety.

Independent healthcare clinics in Scotland are already regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, but the sector across the UK is not fully regulated.

The number of procedures which pierce and penetrate the skin is increasing and the Scottish Government is considering what requirements can be put in place to reduce the potential for harm from riskier procedures.

The new consultation builds on a previous one in 2020 and puts forward more detailed proposals for what that further regulation could look like.

It is propose that private NSCPs should take place in either:

• an independent clinic, or other healthcare setting regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
• a premises which is licensed by the local authority

The Scottish Government propose that wherever procedures take place they should be carried out by a suitably trained and qualified practitioner or by an appropriate healthcare professional.

It is not believed that all procedures are appropriate in all settings. As such it is proposed to divide procedures into three groups based on factors such as how invasive they are, the level of risk and the level of medical knowledge or training required to conduct the procedures safely.

The Groups proposed are:

• Group 1 will contain those procedures which carry the lowest level of risk, are the least invasive, and which we believe can be safely carried out by a trained practitioner who is not a healthcare professional

It is proposed that Group 1 procedures should be undertaken in either a licensed premises or a HIS regulated setting.

• Group 2 will contain procedures which carry a higher level of risk, and are more invasive than those in Group 1.

It is proposed that Group 2 procedures should only be undertaken in a HIS regulated premises. We propose they could be safely carried out by a trained practitioner who is not a healthcare professional, but that such practitioners should be supervised by an appropriate healthcare professional.

• Group 3 will contain the procedures which carry the highest levels of risk and which are more invasive than Group 1 or 2 procedures.

It is proposed that as well as being undertaken in a HIS regulated premises that these procedures should always be undertaken by an appropriate healthcare professional.

Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said:

“It is distressing to hear of cases where people have suffered as a result of non-surgical cosmetic procedures going wrong. 

“The current gaps in regulation means that anyone can perform most of these procedures without the need for any formal training or qualifications and this consultation aims to gather a wide range of views on how best to address this.

“We want to make sure procedures are carried out by appropriately qualified and skilled practitioners so that clients have peace of mind. We are aware of the potential impact on businesses and we are working with a range of stakeholders to make sure we get those details right. 

“Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that robust and proportionate regulation is introduced to ensure that people who choose to have these procedures, can do so with the confidence they will be safe so please let us know your views.”

Chair of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, Professor David Sines CBE said:

“I warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to consult on this new, proposed scheme of regulation and licensing.

“In my opinion the proposals included in this consultation document will dramatically improve consumer safety and reduce the risk of injury and harm arising from improperly performed cosmetic treatments. Nothing is more important than public protection and patient safety.

“I would urge everybody to support this move towards sensible and proportionate regulation in this important sector.”

Read the consultation paper here Regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures – Scottish Government consultations – Citizen Space which closes 14 February.

It is understood that publication of the draft of BS8233:2025 is imminent for release from British Standard Institution.

In preparation for the consultation the Scottish Institute of Acoustics are providing an open forum to discuss.

See below for more information regarding this meeting:

Scottish Institute of Acoustics: Deeper dive into the proposals to update BS 8233 

Thursday 9 January 2025

14:00 – 16:30 GMT.

Online only

This deeper dive into the proposals is intended to help you inform a response to consultation, which ends on 31st January. We’ll be assuming some prior knowledge of the principles of the proposals (see recording of 30th September webinar; download our IOA Conference paper). In this extended session we’ll be going into more detail.

For residential design:

• WHO 1999 Guidelines – where did they come from? WHO 2018 vs WHO1999
• Is external noise just a proxy? If we meet internal level guidelines, is the noise mitigated?
• L_max – we know it is important, but is a simplistic assessment valuable? What about the other dimensions of sleep?
• Overheating and noise – what is the supporting evidence, and how do we weave in a measure of the “overheating risk” into the noise assessment? 
• How does the proposed mitigation compare with current practice?

For non-domestic buildings:

• Increased guidance on sound insulation between spaces
• Proposals for sound absorption

Meet the speakers

Dr David Hiller, Chair of BS 8233 drafting committee. David is an Associate Director with Arup. He has 37 years experience in acoustics, noise and vibration, having previously been with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) for 12 years. David is currently Chair of Committee B/564, responsible for BS 5228 and BS 8233.

Jack Harvie-Clark, Founding Director at Apex Acoustics, has been working in acoustics since 2000, and researching noise and ventilation for dwellings since 2013. He was the instigator and a major author of the AVO Guide, and acoustic advisor to DLUHC for the acoustics in Approved Doc O.

Dr Benjamin Fenech, Noise lead at UKHA, acoustics specialist with a special interest in the non-auditory health effects of sound and noise. Since 2013 Ben has been responsible for leading the UK Health Security Agency and its predecessor organisation’s work programme on the non-auditory health effects of sound and noise. 

Registration: There is no need to register. Please join with the following Zoom link.

Institute of Acoustics is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84837095051?pwd=4sC3SHgPa7dJa6WEoP8SJaEEMUuR3g.1

Meeting ID: 848 3709 5051
Passcode: 478417

Actions aimed at ensuring households and businesses in Scotland boost reuse and recycling rates and cut waste have been published.

The Circular Economy and Waste Route Map sets out 11 priority areas where efforts and resources will be concentrated to support a transition to a circular economy – where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. 

These are:

* = Relates to provisions in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024

1. Publish a Product Stewardship Plan to set out how we will tackle the environmental impact of priority products by 2025/26
2. Develop an intervention plan to guide long-term work on household food waste reduction behaviour change by 2026/27
3. *Develop with stakeholders’ effective options to implement mandatory reporting for food waste and surplus by businesses from 2025/26
4. Support the development of a model for regional Scottish hubs and networks for the reuse of construction materials and assets from 2025-2027
5. *Facilitate a co-design process for high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services, 2024 – 2026
6. Review of compliance with commercial recycling requirements, 2026
7. Co-design measures to improve commercial waste service provisions, commencing by 2030
8. Develop a Residual Waste Plan to 2045, by 2027
9. Facilitate the development of a Sector-Led Plan to minimise the carbon impacts of the energy from waste sector, by 2027
10. *Develop a circular economy strategy every five years, with first one published in 2026
11. *Set new circular economy targets by 2027

The Route Map is the product of extensive collaboration and engagement with the public, private and third sectors through two consultations since 2022, with consistently high levels of support for the proposals.

The overall recycling rate in Scotland is at its highest level since records began in 2011, and the actions in the Route Map complement provisions in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, which was passed unanimously by MSPs in June.  

Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin launched the Route Map at a visit to Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh, which upcycles discarded wooden furniture into new items.

She said: “Reusing and recycling materials has a huge role to play in Scotland’s response to tackling the climate crisis. 

“We must make the circular option, where we value materials and keep them in use for as long as possible, either in their original form or recycled, an easier choice for Scottish households, businesses and the public sector.

“The Route Map sets out an ambitious plan to help make this a reality and I want to thank all those who have contributed to its development.

“There have been consistently high levels of support for its actions, which promote and support responsible production and consumption, along with the sustainable management of Scotland’s resources – and the final route map will be key to supporting the Scottish Government’s net zero and economic growth goals.”

Helene van der Ploeg, CEO of the Grassmarket Community Project said: “We pride ourselves on our initiatives to repurpose, recycle and reuse through our wood workshop, and Tartan shop. Old furniture, church pews and fallen trees are donated and re-worked into beautiful pieces of furniture or small household items. Leftover tartan from weavers, and donated fabric scraps are handcrafted into beautiful gifts.

“These materials, once considered waste and destined for landfill, are now valuable contributors to the circular economy. Thanks to generous donations, we’re recycling these materials, giving them new purpose, and creating timeless treasures that will be passed down through generations.

“Along the way, we generate income, provide essential skills training for our members (beneficiaries) and volunteers, all of which embodies and reinforces the values of the Route Map and our commitment to the circular economy.”