Destruction of unsold goods to be banned in Scotland

Lorna Slater

Proposals for a ban will be put forward in a consultation on a new Circular Economy Bill to be published in May, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater announced.

The move follows an outcry last summer following an ITV News investigation into Amazon’s Dunfermline warehouse where electronics were allegedly ending up in landfill.

The bill could require retailers to look for other options for unsold products, including donating and recycling them. France recently enacted a similar ban and the EU is currently considering similar interventions.

Ms Slater made the announcement today while visiting Edinburgh charity Fresh Start, which distributes essential household goods and white goods donated by retailers as part of their work to help people who have been homeless establish themselves in their new home.

The minister said: “It is absolutely senseless for perfectly good products to end up in landfill. Rather than being wasted in landfill or incinerated, they should be reused or repurposed. Organisations like Fresh Start show that there is a real need for items like these, and with the cost of living increasing this need is growing rapidly.

“We are living in a climate emergency. When goods go to landfill without having even been used once, we don’t just waste the product – we also waste all the energy and raw materials that went into making it.

“This proposal is a direct response to the public concerns about what happens to items that go unsold. By pursuing a ban, we can make sure they make it into the hands of those that need them, and help Scotland reduce its carbon footprint.

“This is the sort of action that’s needed to create a circular economy and shows the level of ambition that will be contained in our proposals in May.”