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Scotland continues to win the waste battle

EXT01 - B02

20 August 2009

Scotland is producing less municipal waste than in previous years, and recycling more of what we do produce.

Figures released today (Thursday 20 August), by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), show that Scotland's recycling and composting rate for the last quarter of the 2008/09 financial year (January to March) increased to 33.2%, an improvement on 30.1% for the same quarter of 2007/08. That puts the rolling year figure (April 2008 to March 2009) at 34.3%.

Whilst the current economic recession may have a part to play, progress has also been made on stabilising the growth of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced in Scotland. Approximately 3.29 million tonnes of MSW were produced in 2008/2009, a decrease of 120,000 tonnes from the amount produced in 2007/2008. 

And the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill in Scotland is already well below the 1.32 million tonnes limit set for Scotland for 2009/10 by the European Commission under the Landfill Allowance Scheme, with 1.26 million tonnes landfilled in the financial year 2008/2009.

Kenny Boag, SEPA's National Waste Policy Unit Manager, said:

"It is very encouraging to see Scotland's municipal waste recycling rate continue to rise all be it the rise on this occasion is modest. It is important that we reflect upon this and continue to look for practical means by which we can all redouble our efforts to further reduce, reuse and recycle our waste as meeting the Scottish Government's target of a 40% recycling rate by 2010 will be extremely challenging."

Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said:

"We are making progress but we must go further in relation to all types of waste. SEPA's latest provisional figures show that we are already recycling and composting 34.3 per cent of our municipal waste, but we need to reach 40 per cent by the end of 2010. The bar is set and we must work together to reach our goal of a Zero Waste Scotland. Our draft Zero Waste Plan maps out how we can reduce the country's waste, meet our highly ambitious waste targets and contribute to the work on climate change."

Ends

Notes to editors

• Quarter 4 figures are from 1 January – 31 March 2009 and rolling year figures are from 1 April 2008 – 31 March 2009. These are reported by local authority area and for Scotland as a whole and can be found at www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_data_menu/waste_data_reports/landfill_allowance_scheme_repo.aspx
• The rolling year data aggregates the last four quarters' returns and is the best means of comparison for annual data as it eliminates seasonal factors. The recycling/composting rate calculated from the rolling year data is used when checking progress towards meeting the recycling/composting targets.
• Please note the sum of landfilled, incinerated and recycled/composted wastes may differ from the total waste arisings for a local authority. From April 05 local authorities have been asked to report stockpiled materials in the quarter when the material is sent to reprocessors to avoid discrepancies with the total arisings. The figures are accurate at the time of publication. However the data may be updated if further revisions are necessary.
• Previous data for comparison:
  • The recycling and composting rate for the previous rolling year (January – December 2008) was 33.5%.
  • The recycling and composting rate for the fourth quarter of 2007/08 January – March 08) was 30.1%.
• Municipal recycling/composting targets are 40% by 2010 and 50% by 2013 (required to contribute to meeting LAS targets), 60% by 2020 and 70% by 2025. These targets relate to calendar years.
• The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) sets targets and timescales for reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill. From this, the UK government has identified the maximum amount of BMW that the UK can landfill for certain target years up to 2020 and a proportion of these targets have been allocated to Scotland. Scotland's targets for BMW permitted to landfill can be found at www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_data/municipal_waste/biodegradable_municipal_waste.aspx