Scotland – advisers warn that Scotland may miss waste reduction target

Scotland‘‘s Government is being warned that Scotland could fail to meet a vital target to stem the growth in waste – but that burning large amounts in big incinerators is not the solution.



Instead, the Scottish government is being urged by its environmental advisers to reduce the mountains of rubbish produced by households and businesses. Landfill bans and other compulsory controls should be considered in the drive towards a “zero-waste society”, they say.



The Sunday Herald reports that the previous Scottish Executive set a target to “stabilise” the amount of waste produced by households by 2010. But levels have been rising, with the latest figures showing that waste from the average household increased by 2% between 2004-5 and 2005-06 to 1197 kilograms. advertisement



The current Scottish Nationalist government asked the Sustainable Development Commission in Scotland to review waste policy and make recommendations. Ministers are planning a major announcement on the subject early in the new year.



The commission‘‘s report, entitled A Burning Issue, says that unless local authorities do more to cut waste and encourage re-use, “there is a danger that the national stabilisation target will be missed”.



The report concludes that there should only be a “limited role” for energy from waste incinerators under strict conditions. But there is a risk that Scotland will see the construction of inefficient, large-scale and centralised waste-burners, it says.



Local authority plans for up to 10 incinerators have already sparked alarm among environmentalists and local communities. Such plants should only be allowed if they recover at least 60% of the energy via combined heat and power schemes and don‘‘t burn materials that could be recycled, the report argues.



The report also calls for more ambitious targets to increase recycling. But it warns that delivering the 60% or 70% rates that are under consideration should not be allowed to distract from the main task of minimising the amount of waste generated by, for example, reducing packaging.



“Energy from waste or higher recycling are not a substitute for doing more to encourage waste prevention,” it says. “Government has struggled to shift its attention to waste prevention. Without a change of focus many stakeholders will not have confidence over government intentions behind action on energy from waste.”



The current debate between incineration and recycling is “false”, the report argues. “It would be more sustainable to give priority to a 5% reduction in domestic waste being generated, not to a 5% increase in recycling,” it says.



Scotland‘‘s sustainable development commissioner, Jan Bebbington, complimented the government‘‘s “ambition for zero waste”, but argued that ministers had to go “much further” on recycling.



Cabinet secretary for rural affairs and the environment, Richard Lochhead, said: “The Sustainable Development Commission‘‘s report is a very useful contribution to the debate.”