Behaviour change science is a very dynamic area of research and we are adopting a flexible, dynamic and collaborative approach as knowledge and insight develops. There has been increasing evidence within peer reviewed literature that more structured implementation of behaviour change science, beyond communication alone, is necessary to drive food waste prevention across the supply chain, and particularly with regards to consumers and citizens. In response to this, Zero Waste Scotland is regularly reviewing the latest literature, developing further in-house behavioural change strategy and expertise, conducting small scale pilots of behaviour change techniques, partnering in academic collaborations, and active knowledge exchange with Waste and Resources Action Plan (WRAP) and international colleagues on the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste .

As part of the EU Platform Zero Waste Scotland were part of the rapporteur team that developed Recommendations for Action in Food Waste Prevention , which highlights the behavioural change challenges and suggested action to address these. Further, specific behaviour change focused business support will be launched in late 2020 through the Food Waste Reduction Business Support Service.

The R&D budget was set at the Scottish Enterprise Board meeting held on 28 February 2020.

As I stated in my answer to S5W-32552 the Scottish Government are in regular contact with the footballing authorities to discuss a range of issue.

In light of the publication of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Scotland's Strategic Framework on 23 October 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19): organised activities for children guidance for organised activities and services for children, including babies and toddlers, was updated on 12 November 2020. The guidance is not an instruction for all services and activities to open up at this time, since this will be based on the requirements that need to be met, relevant to each individual delivery setting. Private providers should read this guidance in conjunction with guidance for small businesses: Coronavirus (COVID-19): small and micro businesses guidance .

While our capacity to measure and monitor on a granular and sector specific level develops, we have identified some alternative interim measurement methodologies. For household data, we have utilised waste compositional data from 5 local authorities in Scotland from a wider UK waste compositional study conducted by WRAP. This has been analysed alongside information from Waste Data Flow, the national database that holds data on waste collected by local authorities.

For specific sectors, we have scaled to geographical areas based on economic and demographic metrics from UK level data. For example, we were able, due to the high level of participation in the Courtauld commitment, to calculate the ratio of local units in Scotland to the total local units in the UK in 2018 and this was applied to the total UK retail and wholesale food waste from 2018 to derive the Scottish component.

Energy from waste (EfW) operators submit quarterly data returns on the types and quantities of waste they accept. These are included in the Official Statistics on Waste Incineration, available at https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/

These returns include items that are unsuitable for processing and picked out of the waste before processing or ash after processing. The next destination of waste leaving the site is a voluntary field in the quarterly return form.

EfW operators must report the types of waste they accept by EWC Code. There is no requirement to report a more detailed compositional analysis of the residual waste they accept. There are no plans to include such a requirement in the regulations.

A contextual messaging toolkit has been developed based on behavioural insights research Public Perceptions and Concerns Around Litter carried published in 2015. The litter toolkit cost £120,000 and helps to provide effective context-specific and local communication messages.

A grant fund was available to organisations to bid in to use the toolkit in situ, a total of 9 organisations received funding across Falkirk, Edinburgh, Highland, North Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Argyll and Bute. A total of £43,000 was awarded to the 9 funding recipients. We do not hold longitudinal data that would allow us to accurately represent what the reduction in litter frequency/volume has been as a result of the local messaging.

Two thirds of local authorities improved their recycling rate between 2018 and 2019. We are aware that some local authorities face specific challenges in improving their recycling rates.

Alongside Zero Waste Scotland, we will continue to work with local authorities to support further progress. As part of this approach, our Programme for Government 2020-21 announced a £70 million recycling fund, to support local authorities in improving recycling collection infrastructure; and the development of a route map to achieving our ambitious 2025 recycling targets.

The following table provides a summary of the number of calls received by the SEPA Call Centre Dumb Dumpers Hotline

Energy from waste facilities (EfW) are already required to report energy generation to SEPA on an annual basis. Permits issued by SEPA to EfW plants require each facility to produce a Heat and Power Plan and report annual progress to SEPA each year. This report includes information on energy generation in the previous year and progress towards meeting heat use targets.