Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2024
I am delighted to open the stage 3 debate on the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill.
I will begin by thanking the many people who have helped us to get to this point. I thank the convener, the clerks and all the members of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee for their stage 1 report, their extensive—four-week-long—scrutiny at stage 2, and the positive debate. I also thank all the other members and stakeholders who have engaged so constructively with me, and the Finance and Public Administration Committee and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee for their thorough considerations.
In particular, I give my thanks and gratitude to my predecessor. I hope that Lorna Slater is in the chamber to hear this, because I really want to thank her. Lorna Slater’s dedication and hard work in developing the bill throughout the lead-up to stage 1 and through stage 1, and her immense contribution cannot be overstated. I thank her for her personal support to me as I took the reins at stage 2.
I also extend my heartfelt thanks to the members of the bill team for their hard work, support, expertise and tireless efforts throughout the bill process. It cannot have been easy changing ministers halfway through. That was daunting, but because of Ms Slater’s thorough engagement, the cross-party working that she did and my bill team’s support, I have been able to get us to this point, at which we all have the opportunity to pass a bill that we can very much be proud of.
There is real passion and enthusiasm for a circular economy. I have heard that in members’ contributions and from the stakeholders whom I have met. I have also been struck by the spirit of cross-party working. We might not agree on all the methods and on what we have managed to get into the bill, but I think that we all agree that there is a real need to accelerate our efforts on the circular economy. I think that a lot of our constituents would like to see more of that type of working across the chamber and more of the consensus politics that the deliberations on the bill have exemplified.
At every stage, members have championed repair, recycle and reuse initiatives that are leading the way in their constituencies and regions and in others that they have visited. The third sector and local councils are being innovative, and there are innovative businesses. Reference to those initiatives has really helped to oil the wheels of the bill. I think that this crucial piece of legislation will be a springboard for waste managers throughout Scotland, of whatever status, to ramp up action.
Making more sustainable use of our resources in Scotland is fundamental to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. During the passage of the bill, we have listened to feedback and, because of that, the bill is stronger in promoting action further up the waste hierarchy. I thank my colleagues for pushing the Government to put more in the bill, and particularly to refer more to reuse in the waste hierarchy and to be cognisant of the role that reuse, refill and take-back have in the whole-life carbon emissions of goods, products and materials.