In January 2014 Scotland introduced new waste regulations requiring businesses to present metal, plastic, glass, paper, card and food (if producing over 50kgs per week) for separate collection.
I have always been a strong supporter of Scotland’s ambition to improve the way it manages its secondary resources and the commitment of the Scottish Government to use regulation where appropriate (and in a proportionate manner) to support these objectives.
The introduction of the new regulations, whilst certainly achieving the objective of increasing the volume of materials for recycling has not however been without its challenges.
Since the introduction of the new regulations it has been great to see the volume of material arriving for recycling at our Glasgow Material Recycling Facility (MRF) increase by somewhere close to 25%. This represents a significant change in behaviour as material moves out of the general waste stream and in to recycling bins.
The challenge however is that this increase in volume has been coupled with an increase of over 12% in the contamination levels of material that we are receiving at the MRF. The knock on effect is that the cost of processing waste to an acceptable standard for reprocessors has risen significantly. Whilst those responsible for recycling the material are of course doing what they can to absorb this cost, ultimately a proportion of it will be passed on to waste producers in the price they pay for their service.
Quality
The material quality issue is further amplified by the fact that there are now far higher volumes of recycled material available in the market and therefore reprocessors have become more selective in the material they accept.
Whilst we are currently able to address the quality of material through increased processing the changes from 1 January 2016 have the potential to present us with a real issue. From this date the threshold for food waste requiring segregation from the general waste falls to 5kg – impacting virtually every waste producer in Scotland. Whilst we remain supportive of the move to reduce the amount of food waste we produce and to drive more value (in the form on energy and product) from that which is generated, we have to understand the potential for some unintended consequences and work to mitigate these risks.
The issue is again two-fold. Firstly, how do we ensure that food waste coming out of the general waste ends up in a dedicated container and not mixed in with other recycling streams? The second issue is really the reverse of the first! How do we ensure that the food waste collection is collecting food and not food and packaging? Whilst Anaerobic Digestion facilities (the primary outlet for our food waste) can handle a small amount of packaging, any significant percentage of plastic or cardboard causes an issue and the presence of glass can cause serious operational problems.
The regulation of waste in Scotland presents us with a real opportunity to pioneer efficient and sustainable resource management and the increase in recycling volumes show us just what is possible. We must now work across sectors and in conjunction with Scottish Government and partners such as Zero Waste Scotland to ensure that the quality message is heard just as loudly as the call for quantity. To have one without the other limits our capability to develop a circular economy and more sustainable supply chains for our customers. Delivered together they become a vital enabler in making Scotland one of the world’s most sustainable economies.
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