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Sets out the legislative background to the recycling of waste materials in the United Kingdom. Benefits from recycling; The provision of recycling credits under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act; The draft Economic Community (EC) Packaging Waste Directive; The German DSD scheme; The setting forth of the elements of a cost-benefit analysis of waste paper recycling; Application of that analysis to a recycling scheme in central Scotland; Conclusions.

The introduction of national parks in areas where existing authorities have traditionally been responsible for developing policies, preparing plans and making decisions on development proposals, can be a threat to longstanding interests. This paper explores this problem by examining the struggle for control of planning in one of Scotland's first national parks, the Cairngorms. Recent research (McCarthy et al., 2002) has established the policy context for this investigation. Informed by research focusing on the consultation process which led to the establishment of the national park, this paper analyzes how alternative approaches to the allocation of planning powers were captured in competing storylines, around which polarized coalitions of interest formed. Opening such insights into the considerations that shape institutional design--a combination of contested problem framing and straightforward political struggles over the locus of regulatory power--starkly reveals the challenges to the new park authority as it seeks to establish consensus between conflicting interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports research into the effect on the UK environment of the deregulation of land development controls. One form of deregulation is granting advance approval to specified classes of small-scale development because they are considered inconsequential. Previous research has indicated that such ‘permitted development’ may adversely affect the natural heritage. This study systematically investigated its impact on the natural heritage of Scotland. The study canvassed the opinions of agents best placed to comment: natural heritage authority field staff, local government planners and representatives of non-governmental organizations. The results revealed concern about permitted development as a whole, and about specified classes. Despite professed concerns about sustainable development, UK planning modernization has failed to grasp the opportunity for a radical and fundamental reform of the scope of UK planning control in the context of contemporary environmental issues. Accordingly, there remains an unresolved tension between the desire to remove unnecessary state regulation of land development and the protection of the natural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing levels of household waste have raced up national, regional and municipal environmental policy agendas around the world, especially as heavy reliance on landfill and incineration is becoming prohibitively expensive and also a high profile source of local voter dissent or vociferous NIMBY behaviour. In an attempt to reduce reliance on these options, UK local authorities have increasingly been forced to turn to recycling. This paper reports on a broad empirical study of household recycling, utilizing national survey-based evidence (drawn from over 31 000 interviews in Scotland). Hitherto, very few published empirical studies have addressed the household recycling decision using national survey data to furnish baseline evidence. For this purpose logit analysis is undertaken, using data extracted from the Scottish Household Surveys of 2000 and 2001. This work also serves as the basis for further detailed modelling of a selection of illustrative household types. After consideration of particular waste streams and the availability of different recycling schemes, the effects on the probability of recycling participation of age, income level, household composition, car ownership and local authority were analysed. While there are clear income effects, the picture regarding the impact of household composition and some other factors is more complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concepts of wild land have recreational, ecological and cultural dimensions, and place varying emphasis on physical landscape attributes and the perceptions of users. In Scotland, national and NGO policies show reasonable consistency in interpreting and defining 'wild land', emphasising the (perception of) lack of current human influence as a key criterion. This research used semi-structured interviews with key individuals and a questionnaire survey of land managers to evaluate concepts and perceptions of wild land in Scotland. Recognising that the conceptual and spatial definition of wild land is a key issue, a new typology is proposed. Weaknesses in the policy framework, as well as key potential threats to, and opportunities associated with, wild landscapes are identified. Management initiatives are fitted to the typology and divided into four management themes. Key recommendations are: (i) that national policy for wild landscapes needs to incorporate criteria, which recognise the multiple values deriving from such areas; and (ii) that future research should combine user group preferences with physical attribute information in determining what constitutes wild landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]