Scotland to switch to carbon metric for recycling

The Scottish Government will measure its recycling performance under a world leading carbon metric from 2013, in a move which it claims will help to prioritise materials for recycling.

The Government intends to use the measuring method to assess its performances against its self-imposed goals under the countrys Zero Waste Plan, which was published in June 2010 and includes a 50% recycling target for all waste by 2013 and a 70% by 2025.

Under the new system, which was officially launched this week (March 15), tonnage diversion targets will be weighted by applying a carbon factor to the materials collected, which takes into account the environmental benefits of recycling those materials over sending them to landfill.

The carbon metric is intended to help prioritise high impact carbon materials, such as textiles and plastics. Both of these materials currently have a low level of recycling within Scotland.

And, the system will also take into account the relative merits of specific recycling processes for a material, with glass that is recycled back into glass rather than into alternative uses such as roadfill or aggregates being given a higher weighting in the calculations.

The system takes into account the greenhouse gas emissions across the life cycle of a material and it is intended to complement, and not displace, the existing tonnage-based collection measures.

The Scottish Government first mooted the possibility of a carbon metric in November 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), which it claims is the first of its kind in the world.

The metric was designed by the Scottish Government, advisory body Zero Waste Scotland and experts from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.

Measure

Launching the carbon-metric, environment secretary Richard Lochhead said: Im delighted to announce another huge and world-leading step the Scottish Government is taking to monitor Scotlands recycling successes. The new way of measuring performance will focus on the carbon savings of each item, rather than its weight.

The Carbon Metric Reporting System for Recycling Performance, as it is known by the Scottish Government, will apply to domestic recycling targets only, with European Union reporting targets set to remain weight-based.

The Scottish Government has stressed that the carbon metric will not be the only mechanism to monitor recycling performance but will be used by stakeholders to prioritise their waste management practices in such a way as to provide greatest environmental benefit.

It added that the carbon metric will primarily be used to assess the recycling performance of household waste but it is hoped that all waste streams – such as commercial and industrial, as well as construction and demolition – will be measured against a carbon-metric by 2025.

And, it is envisioned that the metric could be adapted in the future to take into account alternatives to recycling, such as the impact of waste prevention to landfill. The format of the data is said to be laid out in a manner that could be expanded to other areas, should Scottish Government policy require it to do so.