Councils could be hit with substantial fines after it emerged they were “very unlikely” to meet a key European waste management target.
Councils could be hit with substantial fines after it emerged they were “very unlikely” to meet a key European waste management target.
An Audit Scotland report warned of a “significant risk” that the 2013 landfill directive would be missed because of delays in commissioning the facilities needed to treat residual waste. The finding was backed up by a survey that found almost half of councils were concerned they would fail to meet the target.
Sustainable Waste Management, published today, found that recycling rates had gone up. Around a quarter of municipal waste is now being recycled, compared to 7 per cent in 2001/02. However, further increases would be harder to achieve and would cost more, it said.
Caroline Gardner, deputy auditor general for Scotland, called on the Scottish Government to decide as a matter of urgency how landfill volumes should be reduced.
The report estimates that councils’ expenditure on waste management will need to reach an estimated £580 million in 2019/20. Around £351 million was spent on managing household waste in 2005/06.
Conservative environment spokeswoman Nanette Milne said she was encouraged by the progress being made on recycling targets. “However, there is a very inconsistent pattern of achievement between various different councils and that certainly needs to be addressed,” she said.
The rising cost of recycling and the proportion of municipal waste sent to landfill were “serious causes for concern”, said Milne.
“The evidence here suggests that recycling is going to be very expensive in the future – of course this should not stop us from striving to recycle, however this fact will make it difficult for councils,” she said.
“Also, I see that we are second worst in Europe for the percentage of municipal waste sent to landfill – 73 per cent. This is absolutely unacceptable and the new SNP minority government needs to look at solutions to reduce our overall waste stream.”
Green MSP Robin Harper said a clear decision had to be made between his party’s Zero Waste policy and a new generation of incinerators, which many councils were proposing.
"Making the dash to incinerate perfectly good paper and plastics will be a move in the wrong direction,” he said. “It will create waste-hungry plants up and down the country and completely undermine moves towards zero waste.”
One person has commented on this article. 1. Recycling
Ben Murray, Unregistered We've made progress with recycling over the last few years; our rates are no longer appalling, they're merely poor.
But the investment in kerbside recycling schemes has done little to bring about a change in our attitude to waste. We still think of "waste" (the by-products of our own lifestyles) as a problem that somebody else has to deal with.
Firstly, we need to take responsibility for what we produce, and secondly, we need to stop thinking of it merely as a problem. The vast bulk of what we throw away can be used again in some form, so we need to start thinking of it as a valuable resource.
If that happens, we can start to make real progress. If not, we'll remain trapped in a wasteful, throwaway society of our own making.
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