S6W-27183

Asked by: McArthur, Liam (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Orkney Islands)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring or assessment it has undertaken to measure the (a) amount of plastic pollution in seas and waterways and (b) sources of any such pollution.

Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition

The Scottish Government currently monitors plastic pollution in the sea through microplastics in surface water, sea-floor litter, and beach litter. We have initiated work to collect data on plastic pollution in waterways though supporting and funding Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project. The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy action plan contains a number of actions related to improving data capture on litter and flytipping, with the aim of improving our knowledge of these issues.

The Scottish Government microplastics monitoring programme began in 2013, and has undertaken annual surveys since that time. Microplastics are present in the surface waters of all Scottish Marine Regions, although have not been found to be present at all sample sites. Scottish Marine Regions next to the most urbanised and industrialised areas of the country have been shown to have higher concentrations of microplastics. Annual surveys continue to gather data, and would contribute to any baseline developed in the future.

Sea-floor litter data is collected during Scottish Government fish surveys which sample Scottish waters. There is now over 10 years of data, from 2012 onwards, which is used nationally and internationally as part of wider efforts to monitor changes in marine litter levels in the North-East Atlantic. There is evidence of an apparent decrease in litter density over time for some areas of Scotland’s seas.

The density and type of litter found on Scotland’s beaches has been recorded by the Marine Conservation Society since 1993. This data has been used by the Scottish Government to produce the pilot Scottish Beach Litter Performance Indicators. Beach litter loadings have been calculated for five sub-regions around the Scottish coastline. The amounts of litter found in the five sub-regions show a variety of trends, dependent on the litter type and location.

Information on these monitoring programmes has been published in Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 and can be found at https://marine.gov.scot/sma/assessment-theme/marine-litter

Research and monitoring shows that the majority of litter which ends up in the sea or in waterways has come from land-based sources. These sources include on-the-go food and drinks containers, sanitary items incorrectly disposed of through the sewer system, and flytipping. Maritime and aquatic sources also contribute to litter found at sea and in waterways, and these include maritime industries such as fishing, aquaculture, and shipping, as well as other sources such as angling.

S6W-27071

Asked by: Leonard, Richard (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct a comparative assessment of the (a) short-, (b) medium- and (c) long-term environmental impact of creating a standard sized natural grass football, rugby or hockey pitch, compared with 3G artificial surfaces of the same size.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

We will give full consideration to new research in this area, and we are supportive of efforts to examine evidence on the wider impacts of microplastics which will be material to helping shape any future regulation.

EU legislation designed to protect the environment from exposure to microplastics means that, from 2031, rubber crumb infill material will no longer be available for use on artificial pitches within the EU. We are working with the UK and Welsh Governments to better understand the impacts microplastics have on the environment and will consider the need for future legislation under for example the UK REACH regulation on the safety of chemicals.

S6W-27070

Asked by: Leonard, Richard (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct an assessment of any environmental impact of replacing grass pitches with artificial turf pitches that includes a full life-cycle assessment of the manufacture, use and disposal of artificial turf pitches and crumb rubber from playgrounds.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

We will give full consideration to new research in this area, and we are supportive of efforts to examine evidence on the wider impacts of microplastics which will be material to helping shape any future regulation.

sport scotland are following the study being conducted in the UK to measure the migration of micro plastics from pitches with the mitigation measures in place as per the CEN code of practice. This will conclude in 2025.

S6W-27069

Asked by: Leonard, Richard (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of international research and the European Chemicals Agency’s evidence-based assessment for banning microplastic 3G crumb rubber infills, whether it will now take steps to immediately start phasing out this reported pollutant. 

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

We will give full consideration to new research in this area, and we are supportive of efforts to examine evidence on the wider impacts of microplastics which will be material to helping shape any future regulation.

EU legislation designed to protect the environment from exposure to microplastics means that, from 2031, rubber crumb infill material will no longer be available for use on artificial pitches within the EU. We are working with the UK and Welsh Governments to better understand the impacts microplastics have on the environment and will consider the need for future legislation under for example the UK REACH regulation on the safety of chemicals.

sport scotland are following the study being conducted in the UK to measure the migration of micro plastics from pitches with the mitigation measures in place as per the CEN code of practice. This will conclude in 2025.