These Regulations ban the manufacture and/or supply of problematic single-use plastic (SUP) items in Scotland, the aim being to reduce the environmental impact of single-use plastic products and contribute towards the move to a more circular economy.
The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 was passed on 17 December 2020. The Scottish Parliament withheld consent for the Act. The Act established a market regime for the UK which introduces market access principles for goods in the UK, including the mutual recognition principle for goods. The mutual recognition principle for goods provides that goods which have been produced or imported into one part of the UK, and which can be sold or supplied there without contravening any relevant requirement, can be sold in any other part of the UK, free from any relevant requirements which would otherwise apply. The Regulations will require to be read in light of the application of the Internal Market Act.
Therefore the prohibition of supply of the listed single-use plastic products in the Regulations will not apply to any products which are produced or first imported into another part of the UK, and which can be lawfully supplied in that part of the UK. The Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 prohibit the supply in the course of a business of single-use plastic straws (with exemptions) and plastic drink stirrers in England, which would need to be taken into account in determining which products may be supplied in England.
