Area Introduction

Argyll and Bute Council is the local authority covering the whole of the Argyll & Bute waste area.

The AWP sets out the best practicable environmental option (BPEO) for the management of the area’s MSW. This calls for:

• Source segregation of recyclable materials through kerbside collections and recycling points
• Centralised composting of residual waste in mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants
• Recovery of energy from waste (in the longer term).

The AWP recommends a two-stage process to implement the BPEO. It sets targets of 26% recycling and 24% composting by 2010, with the remainder going to landfill. By 2020, it calls for 17% recycling, 24% composting, 26% energy recovery and 33% landfilling. More kerbside collection schemes, upgraded recycling centres, more recycling points and greater community sector involvement meant that 10% of the area’s MSW was recycled or composted in 2003/04. Three MBT plants have been constructed and a green waste composting facility is planned.

A major funding award from the Scottish Executive in July 2004 will help Argyll and Bute Council to develop the infrastructure necessary to meet the AWP’s targets. Educational campaigns led by the Group for Recycling in Argyll and Bute (GRAB) will seek to change attitudes to waste.