Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW)
data collection
WasteDataFlow
Scottish local authorities have a statutory duty under the
Landfill Allowance Scheme to report accurate data on Local
Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW) to SEPA on a quarterly
basis. This is achieved via WasteDataFlow, an online
web-based reporting system used by all UK local authorities.
Scottish local authorities started using this system on 1 April
2006 to report data on waste arisings, recycling and composting,
and disposal on a monthly or quarterly basis.
WasteDataFlow has been used in England and Wales since 2004 and
in Northern Ireland since 2005. The WasteDataFlow database is
owned by Defra and controlled by a stakeholder group, of which SEPA
and the Scottish Government are members.
Authorised data held in WasteDataFlow can be viewed by
registered users, including the Scottish Government, Defra, Audit
Scotland, members of the public and local authorities
themselves.
Further information on this reporting system, including guidance
for Scotland and the general guidance manual, is available from the
WasteDataFlow website:
The full definition of LACMW waste is given in Scottish
Government and SEPA guidance published in March 2011 (see
opposite).
SEPA's responsibility
SEPA's responsibility, as the monitoring authority for the
Landfill Allowance Scheme, is to verify waste data submitted by
local authorities. This is done every quarter and at the end
of each financial year using procedures that assess consistency and
accuracy.
The introduction of WasteDataFlow has simplified this process,
replacing both SEPA's annual Local Authority Waste Arisings Survey
and the Landfill Allowance Scheme Quarterly Monitoring Return.
Applications of the data
SEPA use the data from WasteDataFlow for a wide range of
purposes including:
- determining local authority recycling and composting rates and
whether national targets are met;
- producing local authority waste management reports;
- providing household waste data for the European Union Waste
Statistics Regulations;
- providing data for the Waste Data Digest.
Further information on LACW reporting, including local authority
waste management reports, is available here: