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Conserving and protecting the world’s natural resources is vital. For Scotland to become a resilient, resource efficient economy, we must cut waste production, keep materials circulating for as long as possible, prevent the harms from waste management and tackle waste crime. SEPA’s waste to resources framework sets out how we work to deliver these goals, in line with our Sector Planning approach a

We are transitioning to a new website, and the content from this section will move to our BETA site.  Please go to our Authorisations and Compliance section to find information on applying for waste activities authorisations and information on how the EASR regulations may impact you/your authorisation. If the information you are looking for is not part of EASR, you may find it in our A-Z topi

We are transitioning to a new website and authorisation process and the information on this webpage may not be up to date. Please contact us if you have any questions.   Scotland is making progress towards its waste targets by transforming residual waste into energy. Residual waste – waste which cannot be reused, recycled or recovered – forms the lowest aspect of the waste hierarchy and is no

SEPA is responsible for reporting national waste statistics to the Scottish Government and European Union among others. As regulator, SEPA also has a duty to assess whether waste management sites comply with the conditions of their licence or permit. To do this, SEPA collects and verifies data from a number of sources, mainly: Operators of all licensed and most permitted waste management sites Op

Publication Reporting year When published Business waste data 2021 2021 June 2023 Business waste data 2018 2018 July 2020 Business waste data 2017 Methodology 2017 2017 May 2019 Business waste data 2016 Methodology 2016 2016 July 2018 Business waste data 2015 Methodology 2015 2015 Sept 2017 Business waste data 2014Methodology 2014 2014   Business waste data 2013Methodolog

Publication When reported When published Household waste summary data and text, pre-release access list and quality report 2024 28th October 2025 Household waste summary data and text, pre-release access list and quality report 2023 29th October 2024 Household waste summary data and text 2022 17th October Household waste summary data  2022 17th October Pre-release access list&nbs

Waste from all sources Discover Data tool Last updated: 15th July 2025 Household Waste Discover Data tool Last updated: 28th October 2025 This page presents data and information on the types and quantities of waste generated and managed across Scotland.The Scotland’s Environment Waste Discover Data tool presents waste from all sources, i.e. from households, the construction and demoli

The European Union Waste Statistics Regulation (2150/2002/EC) came into force in November 2002. It requires all Member States to provide data to the European Commission every two years on the generation and treatment of waste and on the number and capacity of waste management facilities. In this context, waste treatment covers incineration, recovery and disposal. The aim of the Regulation is to es

Statutory waste data returns, collected and quality assured by SEPA’s Dataflows Unit, are used for the following purposes: Check compliance with the authorisation. Fulfil SEPA’s statutory and non-statutory reporting obligations.  Respond to relevant data enquiries and requests for information. Following a waste data consultation which ran from September to October 2019, some additional non-

Some of the reporting carried out by the Dataflows Unit is given below.  Publication Latest reporting year Publication frequency Driver Next publication due Waste from all sources Discover Data tool  2023 Annual 1 March 2026 Waste from all sources - data and quality report 2023 Annual 1 March 2026 Household Waste Discover Data tool 2024 Annual