It has been rumoured this month that Scotland could miss a crucial deadline for dealing with waste, according to the country's public sector watchdog. The Accounts Commission for Scotland has called for urgent decisions by the Scottish Government on how to cut the amount of waste going to landfill. It said Scotland was likely to miss EU targets for 2013, something which could incur huge financial penalties. The Scottish Government has announced that they will be hosting a summit on 3 October 2007 to discuss how best to move towards a zero waste policy. At present, 1.54 million tonnes of biodegradable waste goes to landfill. This figure must fall to 888,000 tonnes by 2013.
The report is the first national study of progress towards meeting EU landfill targets. It has shown that recycling rates have been rising, with a quarter of municipal waste now being recycled compared to 7% in 2001. However councils will have to increase these recycling rates and cut the amount of waste in order to meet the necessary targets, something which could prove problematic due to the slow rate at which new facilities are being built. It is also estimated that council spending on waste would have to rise to an estimated £580 million by 2020, compared to about £351 million last year.
Isabelle Low of the Accounts Commission said, "Councils have done well so far to achieve a rapid rise in recycling rates. But we still need to recycle more and success in the next phase will be harder." However Duncan McLaren of Friends of the Earth Scotland argued, "This report confirms many of the concerns we have raised over the years about Scotland's rising waste mountain. The priority has to be waste prevention, something this report only touches on."
