The consultation exercise will help SEPA draw up local waste plans as part of the waste strategy. The agency has established 11 waste strategy area groups which divides Scotland into 11 regional waste management strategic planning units.
This natural grouping enables SEPA to address local variations such as existing infrastructure, existing contracts and economic, geographic, social and demographic differences between areas. The grouping also allows local interests and expertise to be maximised as well as the establishment of economies of scale for the future procurement of infrastructure.
John Paterson, of SEPA, said: “There are 11 waste strategy areas and all are at different stages of producing their waste plan. But draft waste plans should be produced by the end of the year.”
The consultation exercise is being targeted at representatives of the waste industry and local businesses who SEPA hope they will be able to work with to create jobs and business opportunities. The agency also wants members of the public to give their views on the waste strategy and local waste management issues and to explain what they would want from a waste plan. The meetings will ask people for their views on current waste management practices and see how these can be improved to meet future waste management needs.
A spokesman for SEPA said: “Given the huge potential impact of waste management on business, the environment and our social lives, we recognise the need to have the public actively involved to ensure that the plan is both, relevant to, and representative of, everyone living working and operating in the area. Waste is not somebody else's problem: we all produce it. Ways must be found of reducing the amount of waste that is landfilled, to reduce the chance of pollution as well as meeting new environmental legislation.”
The draft area waste plans will be based on the preferred best practice environmental options for each area and SEPA will consult with the community again before the plans are finalised.
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