People in the Highlands have overwhelmingly supported local composting and recycling as the best ways of getting rid of their rubbish. The Highland Waste Strategy Group received around 700 responses to its recent consultation exercise about the future of the area's waste, the highest level of feedback in Scotland. The group is responsible for producing an area waste plan which will set out the preferred options for dealing with the 500,000 tonnes of rubbish produced in the Highlands each year.

As well as the 700 responses, nearly 400 people attended public meetings throughout the Highlands, and there were workshops for 1115 school children. The main findings of the consultation were:

• there is huge support for local composting and recycling - 83% of respondents
  
• more than 85% said they would be willing to help recycling initiatives by separating their waste before putting it out for collection
  
• people think decisions should not be made on cost grounds alone - environmental and social issues are more important
  
• many people highlighted better recycling practices in Europe and the US where about 30-40% is recycled (compared with 2.2% in Highland).
  
  

Lorna Walker of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, who co-ordinated the consultation, said: "These results are very positive, and show that there's a lot of support in the Highlands for practical initiatives to deal with our half a million tonnes of rubbish. We found that 80% of people wanted small facilities located around the Highlands. What is also encouraging is that 90% gave us their views on how to reduce waste in the first place.

"Our next steps will be to consider these findings and come to a decision on the best option for the Highlands within the next few months. We will consult on this as well, before putting our plan to the Scottish Executive for approval."

The European Union requires that every member state produces a waste strategy. Scotland is split into 11 waste areas, each of which has to produce a plan detailing how waste will be managed in that area for the next 20 years. The members of the Highland group include public bodies, businesses, and environmental and community groups.

Copies of the consultation report are available on request from 01349 862021 or by emailing highlandwaste@sepa.org.uk. There is also information on www.sepa.org.uk in the consultations section.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• For more information contact Lorna Walker on 01349 860363/07788 568169 or Tom Anderson on 01349 860319/07713 053777.
  

• JPG photos of waste and parts of the waste management process are available by email from Stewart Argo.