Establishment or revision of legal measures, including bans or restriction on specific categories of plastic packaging and/or products considered problematic or unnecessary: Increased the minimum single-use carrier bag charge from 5p to 10p to further reduce the number of single-use carrier bags sold in Scotland and encourage consumers to use alternative, sustainable options.

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: Work continuing on EPR for packaging, WEEE and batteries and the DRS for single use drinks containers

Delivery of awareness raising and education campaigns: Various work done by Zero Waste Scotland https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/ and Keep Scotland Beautiful https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/.

Founding signatory of the UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP. The collaborative initiative brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with UK Governments and NGOs to seek a create a circular economy for plastics, this includes the target to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use packaging items by 2025.

Provision of reliable packaging and/or product information to consumers: The EPR for packaging will include clear recycling labelling.

Encouragement of voluntary actions: Various work done by Zero Waste Scotland https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/ and Keep Scotland Beautiful https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/.

Single-use plastic bags,Single-use plastic q-tips

Establishment or revision of legal measures, including bans or restriction on specific categories of plastic packaging and/or products considered problematic or unnecessary: Remain committed to meet or exceed the standards set out in the European Union’s Single Use Plastics Directive, which includes taking action to ban more problematic single use plastic items such as cutlery, plates by the end of 2021.

Provide more details about the selected actions - Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: Working with other administrations on the introduction of EPR for packaging. Also progressing a DRS for single use drinks containers. Reviews of the existing EPR schemes for WEEE taking place, and one for end of life vehicles will be undertaken in the next few years, led by the UK Government with input from Scotland and other devolved nations. Consideration is being given to a range of other EPRs including furniture, textiles and bulky waste.

Provide more details about the selected actions - Delivery of awareness raising and education campaigns: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Encouragement of voluntary actions: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Delivery of awareness raising and education campaigns: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Encouragement of voluntary actions: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: We are continuing to work with the other administrations on the introduction of EPR for packaging. By placing full net costs on packaging producers, we will incentivize better packaging choices and design. This may include an element of encouraging reuse through ecomodulation.

Delivery of awareness raising and education campaigns: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Encouragement of voluntary actions: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Establishment or revision of economic incentives (e.g. subsidies) or disincentives (e.g. taxes, charges): Working across UK administrations on the emerging plastic packaging tax.

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: We have continued to work with the other administrations on the development of an extended producer responsibility system for packaging, this will incentivise the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates (see section d below).

Continues to support the ambitions of the UK Plastics Pact (see above), including the target of 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Establishment or revision economic incentives (e.g. subsidies) or disincentives (e.g. taxes, charges): Continued work with UK administrations on emerging plastics packaging tax.

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: We have continued to work with the other administrations on the development of an extended producer responsibility system for packaging, this will incentivise the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates

Investment in infrastructure: Launched a £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund to improve local authority infrastructure. In order to:

• Develop infrastructure projects to improve the quality of recycling at collection and treatment level

• Work with Local Authorities to identify and explore projects that have the greatest potential to increase recycling performance and adopt innovative new approaches and low carbon technologies

• Tackle our throwaway culture, encouraging a circular economy and tackling climate change

Promotion of collection, sorting, reuse and/or recycling schemes (e.g. deposit return schemes): Continuing to make progress with a DRS for drinks containers

Provide more details about the selected actions - Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: We have continued to work with the other administrations on the development of an extended producer responsibility system for packaging, this will incentivise the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates. The proposals will fund LA collection

Promotion of collection, sorting, reuse and/or recycling schemes (e.g. deposit return schemes): Introduction of a DRS for drinks containers, including PET, by 2025.

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes: Some elements of the extended producer responsibility system for packaging should be in place, incentivizing the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates

Establishment or revision of post-consumer recycled content minimum thresholds: - Upholds the aim of matching the EU ambition for all plastic packaging to be economically recyclable or reusable by 2030

- Continues to support the UK Plastic Pact target of 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging by 2025

- Welcomes the innovative approach taken by the UK Government in developing a Plastics Packaging Tax that will be applied to plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled content. This will test how economic instruments can influence material choices

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility scheme: We have continued to work with the other administrations on the development of an extended producer responsibility system for packaging, this will incentivise the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates

Establishment or revision of Extended Producer Responsibility scheme: We have continued to work with the other administrations on the development of an extended producer responsibility system for packaging, this will incentivise the use of recyclable packaging as well as facilitating increased collection, sorting and recycling rates

Delivery of awareness raising and education campaigns: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland.

Encouragement of voluntary actions: Continued work by Zero Waste Scotland.

Various campaigns such as Keep Scotland Beautiful Jeep Scotland Tidy campaign - https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/

Various communication campaigns to be run by the Scottish Government and partner organisations such as Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful to encourage a move to a more circular economy and tackle Scotland's contribution to climate change.

Ministry/department of Agriculture / Livestock / Fisheries / Forestry / Food Security / Rural Affairs,Ministry/department of Environment / Sustainable Development / Natural Resources / Energy,Ministry/department of the Economy / Finance / Treasury

The Scottish Government is a founding member of the Plastics Pact, part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network.

Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic: It is too early to determine the quantitative impact of COVID-19 on our commitments over this reporting period in Scotland. However, during the pandemic, councils had to temporarily reduce or suspend some services due to staff shortages and a need to prioritise and protect public health. These were necessary and temporary measures, and services were reinstated as soon as local circumstances allowed."