This section sought to understand how ZW is implemented as policy in Scotland. Emphasis was placed upon key policy interventions. The common theme across all discussions was that the ZW policy presents an inclusive but flexible approach to implementation, adopting both the content and process advocated by the academic literature as being compatible with sustainable waste management programmes.
It was suggested that the ZW Plan presented a markedly different strategy from the earlier national waste policy, the 2003 Plan, in that the ZW Plan was more accessible and less concerned with actions than visions. It was contended that this could the result of the wider stakeholder consultation which created the plan. It was also suggested that
ZW Plan is in line with academic literature on sustainable waste strategy. The same could also be said of the Revolve reuse standard and RES which appeared to adopt the academic suggestion that these programmes should be developed alongside and using the language of interested stakeholders.
Legislation was found to have less of a visible role in the policy, in contrast to past waste management techniques. Similarly the policy has sought to include sectors (reuse) and scales (households) that academic literature has suggested is often excluded from policy making. It was suggested that the boundary role of ZW Scotland was central in overcoming the structures which have previous limited waste management policy in Scotland.
In response to the research question: how is the policy goal of ZW pursued in Scotland? It was found that various interventions were implemented as part of the policy. These came in a number of forms including policy documents; instruments; initiatives; legislation and funding. Some of these interventions were deemed particularly innovative, including the creation of the boundary organisation ZW Scotland, funding of specific resource streams, engagement with volunteer groups and a national label for reuse quality. Each of these interventions speak to a new form of governance which is more inclusive and takes on a broader perspective of the remit of waste management. 5.4 Conclusion
This chapter has attempted to provide insight into the empirical study of the ZW policy in Scotland which was intended to be an exploratory study of the manifestation of ZW at a national policy level. The chapter aimed to develop an understanding of ZW governance in Scotland by considering 2 research questions.
1) How is the policy goal of ZW understood in Scotland? 2) How is the policy goal of ZW pursued in Scotland?
It was found that ZW policy in Scotland has developed and is implemented in ways that complement much of the existing academic literature on sustainable waste governance and ZW waste. However, limitations of current academic knowledge and the potential for discussion in this thesis were also identified and it was found that certain aspects of
the ZW policy in Scotland make it an ideal case study for future empirical research (see Box 5.6 p124).
This research contributed to the literature by finding that the concept of ZW at a national policy level was seen to be multifaceted and more visionary than has been suggested in other empirical ZW studies. It was argued that this has expanded the scope of waste governance in Scotland, with the data suggesting that ideal ZW governance should include all stakeholders, consider all stages in the production process and cross policy. This points to the conclusion that ZW policy is a move towards understanding waste as a resource.
This chapter also considered the actions being taken under the policy and it was suggested that this reimaging of waste was reflected in many of the policy interventions. It was found that policy included more stakeholders and was more flexible than previous waste policies. The development of ZW Scotland as a boundary organisation to facilitate understanding of waste and expand the scope as envisaged by the policy was also an innovative creation. It was suggested that these policy interventions reflect not only ideas identified within sustainable waste governance literature but have additionally, sought to address some of the problems attributed to waste governance. Overall it could be contended that these policy interventions mark a shift from a waste management policy based on outcomes to a process-focused waste governance. This suggests that the policy marks a change, not only in the conceptualisation of waste to resource, but also in the governance techniques required to achieve this aim. The literature would suggest that this is a shift towards a more sustainable waste governance. This leads to the question of whether the rationale behind waste
Box 5.6 Areas for Further Investigation in Zero Waste Governance
• Role of non-governmental agencies in promoting ZW
• The potential for labelling to promote reuse on a national scale • ZW as a lens to understand other policies
• Understandings of ZW across stakeholders • Views on ZW outside the policy arena
• The implications of national specialities in reprocessing
governance has also changed and whether this development can be linked to a governmentality for sustainable development. This will be explored in the next chapter.