Foreword by North East Waste Strategy Area Group Chair

I am pleased to present the first ever North East Area Waste Plan. The North East Waste Strategy Area Group has been working hard since early 2000 to prepare a long-term, integrated plan for the management of waste in the North East of Scotland. The Group, comprising representatives from the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and local enterprise trusts, have set about a process to develop a sustainable framework for managing municipal solid waste in the North East area. This process has been carried out in consultation with a range of stakeholders and I would like to thank everyone involved for their wide ranging and constructive comments.

Disposal of waste to landfill has been the traditional waste-disposal method employed in the North East area. However, this option is now considered to be unsustainable and is becoming less feasible as a result of EU legislation progressively limiting the amount and types of waste which can be landfilled.

Thus, the Area Waste Plan proposes a step change in the way we think about and handle our waste. First and foremost, we must find ways of reducing the amount of waste produced. We must also consider the remaining waste as a potentially valuable resource and reuse and recycle as much as possible before we finally resort to landfilling.

These are the challenges, which face us all.

Professor Brian P Clark
Chair, North East Waste Strategy Area Group
Chairman SEPA North Regional Board