In March the Scottish Government published its final Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland. Circular Communities Scotland published an initial response which welcomed the strategy and the fact that some areas had been strengthened following the consultation process, but highlighted parts which continue to lack detail and ambition. 

We are now pleased to share an explainer with more information on the Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland by our Circular Economy Policy Officer, Becky Kenton-Lake. 

 

Q: What is the Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland and why is it important? 

In June 2024 the Scottish Parliament passed the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill with cross party support, and it received royal assent to become an Act in August of that year. This meant Scotland had circular economy legislation for the first time – something Circular Communities Scotland and other organisations had been calling for for many years.  

However, this was framework legislation, which put in place requirements for the Scottish Government to publish a Circular Economy Strategy and to set circular economy targets, rather than containing more detailed policies in the Act itself. This made the strategy critical in setting out the meaningful action needed to transform our economy into one where people, places and the planet thrive. 

 

Q: How did Circular Communities Scotland feed into the strategy? 

In October 2025 the Scottish Government published a draft Circular Economy Strategy and launched a public consultation to gather views from stakeholders. Over 190 consultation responses were received, including from Circular Communities Scotland. Additionally, there were also over 1,200 responses received from the public, following a Friends of the Earth Scotland campaign – clearly highlighting the public demand for a stronger final strategy. The Scottish Government has published a summary of the consultation responses.  

The key points in our response to the consultation were: 

  • The draft strategy lacked recognition and provision of additional support for third sector organisations, who are pivotal in delivering a circular economy. 
  • There was too much focus on recycling, rather than addressing issues of over consumption and preventing waste. 
  • There was a lack of detail across many areas, including how the strategy will support people to gain the skills needed for a circular economy and how it will ensure circular choices are the norm.
  • It missed the opportunity to commit to setting targets for reuse and a reuse credits scheme to support the growth of reuse. 

 

Q: How has the final strategy changed since the draft was published and consulted on?

The Scottish Government has published a report to the Scottish Parliament setting out the changes made to the final strategy in response to the consultation on the draft version. Positively, some of our and other respondents feedback has resulted in additions that have made it stronger. For example: 

  • More recognition of the need for systems change as well as behaviour change,  
  • More specific actions around addressing the impact of our consumption internationally, in recognition that it is unsustainably high. This includes working with the UK Government on the UN Global Plastics Pact Treaty and to consider strengthening controls around export of waste.  
  • Added references to plastic (after it was not mentioned at all in the draft!).  

While it is welcome to see these changes, many of the issues we raised in our consultation response were not addressed. The strategy still lacks detail, ambition, urgency and concrete steps that would make it a genuine strategy rather than ambitions.  

For example, the priority to ‘empower consumers and organisations to adopt circular behaviours’ is a welcome intention, but it could have been strengthened by including detail about exactly how consumers and organisations will be empowered, current barriers addressed, how this will be funded, and by when. And the final strategy recognises that ‘sustainable levels of material use’ is needed – but shies away from directly talking about over consumption.  

 

Q: How will the strategy impact third sector circular economy organisations? 

It is welcome that the strategy recognises that moving from our linear, extractive economy to a circular economy will bring substantial benefits to jobs, our wellbeing, the environment and more.  

This positive rhetoric also needs to be matched with specific, funded actions to make the systems change we need real and tangible. 

It is now 10 years since Scotland’s previous strategy ‘Making Things Last’ was published, and many would argue there has been far too little meaningful action or progress towards achieving these benefits since then.   

Third sector circular economy organisations bring huge social, environmental and economic value to their communities, but many are facing significant financial, logistical and staffing challenges. While some of these are outside of the scope of this strategy, it does not go far enough to addressing or even acknowledging these. In fact, it barely mentions the third sector. 

The priority sector and product stewardship plans, due later this year, intend to “to consider how best to mainstream existing local authority, producer and waste management initiatives to expand reuse, repair and redistribution, reducing the impact of disposal and providing opportunities to address the cost of living, such as tool libraries, repair cafes, and reuse hubs”. Whilst this could be positive, it will be essential the government listens to the third sector when making plans to ensure benefits stay within communities.  

 

Q: Now that we have the strategy – what happens next? 

The strategy was published in the last week that Parliament was sitting ahead of the election on 7th May, so it will be the responsibility of the next Scottish Parliament to ensure the strategy forms the basis of circular economy action in the next session.

The key next steps are for the Scottish Government to publish roadmaps for the priority sectors of The Built Environment, Energy Infrastructure, Textiles and The Food System. The strategy commits to working with stakeholders to develop these, and we hope to be part of this process to represent the views of our members and ensure the roadmaps maximise the potential benefits for people, planet and communities. 

Also key is the development of a product stewardship plan later this year, that will set out proposed policy actions on 8 products: packaging, electronics, batteries, and end-of-life vehicles, end-of-life fishing gear, clothing and household textiles, mattresses and furniture. 

The Circular Economy Act, the Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, subsequent plans give us a basis but we need to build on these – when MSPs return and the new government is in place we will be calling for ambitious, concrete actions that would make a meaningful difference to making circular choices easier, addressing the challenges faced by third sector organisations, and ensuring that the social and environmental benefits are felt by communities. 

For more information on our policy work or to discuss these issues further, email becky@circularcommunities.scot.