Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW) summary
reports
SEPA produces annual and quarterly reports to
provide a summary of the household and LACMW recycling and
composting rate and of the amount of biodegradable household and
Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACBMW) landfilled for
each local authority in Scotland. The data in the
reports are obtained from WasteDataFlow. Prior to 2006/2007,
the data were obtained from the Landfill Allowance Scheme Quarterly
Monitoring Return. Reports are available from 2004/2005.
The format of these reports has changed from quarter 1 of
2011/12 (April to June 2011). The current reports provide summary
data broken down by local authority area for household waste only.
The reports are now available as Household
Waste summary reports. Rolling year data will be published when
available.
The annual and quarterly reports are available
here:
In the annual and quarterly reports, the tonnages for the
recycling and composting rate are counted when they are sent to the
reprocessors and waste arisings refer to the total waste sent for
treatment and disposal.
Annual Reports
The annual reports cover a rolling year and are updated
quarterly. A rolling year means that returns from the last four
quarters are aggregated. This is regarded as the best means
of comparison for annual data as it eliminates seasonal
factors. Calendar or financial year data can be produced
using this system.
The rolling year reports are used for two main purposes:
-
To monitor progress against recycling and
composting targets set by the Scottish Government. The rolling
year reports allow a quarterly assessment of progress to be made
and actions to be taken if necessary;
-
To monitor progress against LACBMW and
household waste targets set by the Scottish Government. Each
year SEPA is required to report to the Scottish Government how
individual local authorities and Scotland as a whole have fared
against their targets. This comparison is based on financial year
data.
Quarterly reports
The quarterly reports cover an individual quarter and should not
be used to monitor progress towards targets as seasonal variability
can hide the true trend.
The quarterly reports provide a more detailed examination of the
recycling and composting rate and of the amount of LACBMW and
household biodegradable wastes landfilled by local authorities in
Scotland. For example, they may reveal seasonal variations in
waste production.