Household waste summary reports

The Zero Waste Plan recycling targets for 2012 and 2020 will be applied to household waste only. Therefore from Q1 2011-2012 (April - June 2011) SEPA is publishing household waste summary reports.

Household waste is waste generated by households (and not as defined by the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 which are concerned with charging for collection.)

Further information about the definition of household waste is available on the Local Authority Collected Waste webpage.

This is also the first Official Statistics release for SEPA. You can find out more about this from the Official Statistics webpage.

Household waste summary reports - Official Statistics

Household waste Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual
2011/2012 pdf link (35kb) pdf link (35kb)      

Information on previous reporting can be found on the Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW) summary reports page.

FAQ

What is the difference between the old data used for recycling and composting and the new one?

Only household waste is now used to measure Scotland’s progress towards the recycling targets. In previous years the recycling and composting rate was based on Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW).

Household waste is includes household collection rounds, other household collections such as bulky waste collections, waste deposited by householders at household waste recycling Centres and recycling points/ bring banks.

The new definition excludes non-domestic properties which were previously counted. This includes hospitals and nursing homes, residential hostels, residential homes, schools, universities and other educational facilities, caravan sites and campsites, self catering holiday accommodation, prisons and penal institutions, public halls, royal palaces and premises occupied by charities and used for charitable purposes. 

There is also a new definition for recycling, which sets out in detail what does and does not count. This is to move away from a focus on landfill diversion and towards high quality recycling of materials. Some activities no longer count towards local authority household recycling rates.

Why did you change?

To ensure that targets are aligned with Scottish, UK and European targets and focus on the service provided by local authorities to individual households, the new definition applies only to household waste.

What no longer counts?

As household waste is a narrower category it no longer includes waste collected from:

  • hospitals and nursing homes;
  • residential hostels and homes that are not private residences;
  • schools, universities and other educational facilities;
  • caravan sites and campsites;
  • self catering holiday accommodation;
  • prisons and penal institutions;
  • public halls;
  • royal palaces;
  • premises occupied by charities and used for charitable purposes. 
What no longer counts as recyclable?
  • Only recyclable materials that find markets for re-processing are classed as recycled.
  • Compost-like outputs from the biological treatment of mixed waste no longer counts as recycling. In order to contribute to recycling, the biodegradable materials such as paper, car, garden waste and food should be separated from mixed waste at source and processed into high quality products, composts and digestates.
  • Using the bottom ash from incineration in construction products (such as aggregate and road beds) does not count towards the household waste recycling target. Incinerating resources such as paper, card, plastic and food and using the ash is not the same as ‘closed loop’ recycling of those same materials into new products.

What are the recycling targets?

The Scottish Government has set target rates for the recycling and composting of household waste which can be found on the Recycling and composting targets webpage.

Will this definition help Scotland reach its targets?

The new definition of household waste, plus new restrictions on what is classed as recycling, will ensure that Scotland focuses on closed loop recycling. It may actually make it harder to meet the targets, as local authorities will have to focus on high quality material capture from households and engage with communities to progress further increases in recycling. This work will ensure Scotland progresses towards becoming a true Zero Waste society.

What about recycling and composting statistics for all the other waste collected by local authorities?

Data on how local authorities deal with all their waste are available in the Waste Data Digest. Data for 2011-2012 will be available at a later stage.

How can we compare how we did this year to how we have done previously if we are looking at different figures?

SEPA has published the equivalent recycling rate (calculated under the old guidance) beside the current recycling rates. This will allow for some comparison. SEPA has also published the rolling year recycling rate for Scotland according to the old guidance.