Lothian and Borders Newletter 2007 - What's Happening with Waste
The Lothian & Borders waste area covers the five local authority areas of City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council, Midlothian Council, West Lothian Council and Scottish Borders Council.
The AWP sets out the best practicable environmental option (BPEO) for the management of the area’s MSW. This calls for:
- Preventing waste generation at source
- More recyclable materials recovered through kerbside collection and bring sites
- More home composting and increased kerbside collection of compostables for processing in local facilities
- Development of collection systems tailored to the area’s diverse nature
- Research into advanced waste recovery/treatment techniques.
The AWP sets targets for an increase in MSW recycling from 5% in 2001 to 22% in 2010, and 31% in 2020. Composting/stabilisation is expected to contribute 23% by 2010 and 19% by 2020, when only 23% will be landfilled. In 2003/04, 9% of the area’s MSW was recycled and 3% was composted. New kerbside collection schemes and recycling centres are being introduced by local authorities, and community prevention/reuse projects have secured funding from Transforming Waste Scotland and the Increase Programme (http://www.increase-programme.org.uk/fundedProjectsCentral.php).
Funding awards to the local authorities from the Scottish Executive will help to develop the infrastructure necessary to meet the AWP’s targets. Local Waste Aware campaigns and activities led by local authority waste strategy officers will seek to change attitudes to waste.
