Environmental campaigners have piled electrical waste outside the Scottish Parliament ahead of the final debate on a new Circular Economy law.
The circular economy bill is being debated and voted on in the Scottish Parliament this week and is the last chance for MSPs to amend the bill.
Campaigners from Friends of the Earth Scotland want MSPs to do more to improve the way electrical waste is managed and are calling for changes in the final version of the law.
The new law should bring in policies to create a circular economy in Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland said.
The environmental charity has criticised the bill for a “lack of ambition” and the bill’s focus on disposal rather than the reduction and reuse of products.
Friends of the Earth Scotland is campaigning for the circular economy bill to include a plan for the materials required to transition away from fossil fuels.
The scale of electronic waste in this country is shocking.
The Scottish government’s draft Energy Strategy includes plans for transitioning to electric vehicles but fails to consider where the lithium needed to do this will come from, the campaigners said.
Kim Pratt, Circular Economy Campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland commented: “The scale of electronic waste in this country is shocking. All of the waste that we’ve gathered today came from simply asking around – most of us have something sitting in a cupboard because we don’t know what to do with it.
“Reducing our consumption of the materials used to create these products, by increasing reuse and repair, is essential to reduce the harm being done to people and the environment.
“The new circular economy law also needs to include a plan for these minerals, which are required for our transition away from fossil fuels. If the law does this, it has the potential to have a big impact in creating a fairer and more sustainable future.”
