Scotland stay abreast of waste legislation

A recent report published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), "Waste Data Digest 12: Key facts and trends", shows that Scotland is changing its attitudes and practices toward the disposal of waste and is trying to become a more waste aware and sustainable nation.

Jim Pritchard, SEPA's Data Unit Manager, said, "Less waste is being generated and landfilled and household recycling is on the increase. This demonstrates that not only is recycling becoming part of every day life for many people, so is reducing the amount of waste that is produced in the first place."

Mr Pritchard continues, "The trends indicate that regulations are making a difference to Scotland's environment. The Landfill (Scotland) Regulations SSI 2003/235 require pre-treatment of waste before landfill and the Waste (Scotland) Regulations SSI 2012/148 ban biodegradable municipal waste from landfill from 2021."

Key facts in the report include:

• total amount of waste generated fell by 10% between 2006 and 2010, largely due to reductions in industrial waste;
• amount of waste recycled by Scottish local authorities increased by 21% over the five year period;
• amount of waste composted by Scottish local authorities increased by 27% over the five year period;
• amount of controlled waste treated in 2010 was 50% greater than in 2006;
• amount of controlled waste landfilled fell by 37% between 2006 and 2010;
• between 2006 and 2010, the amount of biodegradable waste landfilled fell by 30%.

For more information, see:

• SEPA Waste Data Digest, http://cedr.ec/8r.