There are two main categories of waste activity that apply to most TSOs:  

• Recycling - regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and your local council (environmental services); and  
• Reuse – regulated by SEPA. 

You must follow the regulations governing these two activities not just because it’s the law and you could face a fine if you don’t, but because we all have a social responsibility to protect the environment and the safety of the local communities that we live and work in. 

Your green credentials can also affect your brand values and reputation – good practice can impact positively, and bad practice can impact negatively on all stakeholders including service recipients, stakeholders, funders and staff. 

Preventing or minimising waste should be your starting point. Reducing the volume of material you need to recycle in the first place, for example plastic or paper cups and containers, will avoid unnecessary waste and use fewer resources. Taking a greener approach to how you work can also be more cost effective and save you money. 

Both SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland offer advice, guidance and examples of good practice on their websites, as does your local council. SEPA’s Business Sustainability Checklist is a helpful tool to get you started. 

Zero Waste Scotland also offers free local training and support to community groups.

In addition to recycling, taking a greener approach to how you work, includes seeking opportunities to reuse products. For example, buying or accepting second-hand goods. SEPA has produced guidance on reuse activities to ensure compliance with waste regulations.  

In short, if a product is to be reused – for example, an item donated to a charity shop, voluntary organisation or community café - verification checks must be made and recorded to show ‘certainty of reuse’ (checklist on page four). If verification of reuse can’t be achieved, then the item is considered to be waste and must be disposed of following the waste regulations referred to above. Possibility or intent of reuse are not a robust enough defence. 

Only products and components of products that are being reused for their original purpose can be considered to be ‘reused’ or ‘prepared for reuse’ – checking, cleaning, refurbishing or repairing. However, the preparation for reuse is considered to be a waste management activity and therefore waste controls apply, until the certainty of reuse can be met. 

If you are carrying out activities to prepare an item for reuse, in most circumstances you do not need a waste management licence but can carry out these activities as an exempt activity. These exempt activities must be registered with SEPA, and relevant conditions must be complied with. 

There are four key categories in deciding if there is certainty of re-use or if waste management controls apply. 

• No change of ownership - where there is no change of ownership of the item, and there is certainty that the item will be reused for its original purpose, then the item has not been discarded, and is not waste.  

• Direct reuse - where transfer of ownership is direct from one user to another user and there is certainty that the item will be reused for its original purpose. This usually involves the buying and selling of an item.  

• Indirect reuse with checking - where ownership transfers to a third party before passing on to its new owner, this introduces a degree of uncertainty over whether the item will actually be reused. However, if the items are checked prior to or at the point of acceptance and those checks are sufficient to provide certainty that the item will in fact be reused, those items will not be regarded as waste and waste management controls would not apply. For example, second hand shops, charity shops, redistribution of items from a house clearance or where a third sector organisation takes items from reuse containers at a household waste recycling centre. 

• Indirect reuse with no prior check - where a third party accepts items with no prior checks to give certainty of reuse, SEPA considers the items to be waste and therefore subject to waste management controls.  

 Certainty of reuse checks should cover: 

• condition - whether the item is an acceptable condition for reuse; 

• functionality and requirement for repair - whether the product is fully functional. If repair is needed, then this must be economically viable; 

• technical requirements – whether the product meets all technical requirements for its sale and later use; and 

• marketability – whether market demand exists for the product.  

SEPA requires systems in place to give assurance that the product will actually be reused. Data on actual reuse rates should be kept showing that checks are effectively showing reusable items. If an item is checked and fails the certainty of reuse checks, but certain components within it pass the tests, then the item is a mix of waste and non-waste and must be classed as waste until the components are removed and made available for reuse.  

Single use plastic 

In August 2022, legislation came into force in Scotland banning many single-use plastic items previously used for food preparation, serving and storage. Zero Waste Scotland has a full list of items as well as guidance, Making More Sustainable Choices, on their website.  

Hazardous materials – WUDS, WEEEs and POPs  

Some products or materials have substances known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are harmful to the environment and potentially human health. They can be present it two groups of everyday products - waste from upholstered domestic seating (WUDS) and waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).  

There are specific regulations governing their disposal if the item has POPs above threshold limits. SEPA’s website provides a full list of products and limits, as well as disposal guidance.