Building a circular economy 2

Material consumption and waste are the primary drivers of nearly every environmental problem we currently face, from water scarcity to habitat and species loss. Around 75% of Scotland’s carbon footprint is caused by the production, consumption, and all too often waste, of goods, and services.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a different approach to our economy, one where we move from a "take, make and dispose" model to one where we value materials and keep them in use. This is called a circular economy model. We recognise that this will be a challenging task and that to achieve this Scotland needs to fundamentally change how it produces, consumes, and manages resources.