Prevention

Waste prevention is at the top of the waste hierarchy – this means it is preferable to prevent waste rather than to recycle or compost it.  At the heart of SEPA’s work on waste prevention is the recognition that many different players have a role to play in preventing waste – right from the product designer to the retailer, the consumer and the local authority as collector of the waste.  Government also has a role to play in setting the right policy context to make waste prevention easier.

Following the preventing household waste in Scotland consultation  (430k pdf), SEPA and the Scottish Government have published the Waste Prevention Action Plan  and a workstream plan  detailing who will carry out activities outlined in the action plan. 

Waste prevention is at the top of the waste hierarchy, meaning it is better to prevent waste rather than to recycle, compost, treat or generate it in the first place. A growth rate of 1.6% means that the total amount of waste we generate will double by 2040. The Waste Prevention Action Plan, launched in February 2007, is aimed at reducing waste disposed at landfill and achieving the National Waste Plan target to stop municipal waste growth by 2010 then reduce it thereafter.  To achieve this, numerous stakeholders have a role to play in preventing waste including product designers, manufacturers, retailers, community groups, consumers and local authorities.  In addition, the Scottish Government has a duty in setting appropriate policies to ensure waste prevention is easy to undertake.

Waste prevention is a key element is Scotland's move towards environmental sustainability, helps to bring about the carbon reductions required to combat climate change and contributes to developing a pattern of consumption that has less damaging impacts.

Furthermore, waste prevention also looks to address reducing the hazardous nature of household waste and not just the quantity.

Information on minimising commercial and industrial wastes can be found on SEPA's resource efficiency web pages.

In association with the national action plan, SEPA have also produced a waste prevention guide to provide Local Authorities, the Community Sector and Individuals with the tools to tackle waste prevention at a local level. A copy of the guide can be found here  (1.8mb pdf).

It is important to note that we are not just talking about reducing the quantity of household waste, but also about reducing the hazardous nature of waste.

N.B: Information on minimising commercial and industrial wastes can be found on SEPA’s resource efficiency and business waste pages.