Funding announced to increase recycling in Scotland

The fund, which will be delivered by Zero Waste Scotland, was announced at the Scottish Waste and Resources Conference in Glasgow yesterday (October 3), which also saw the publication of a Scottish policy statement by the Resource Association.

Zero Waste Scotland said funding will be available to councils immediately, until April 2013, and will fund improvements to household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) and help increase the collection of glass from households.

This latest funding is in addition to 5 million already made available through Zero Waste Scotland in 2012 to support household food waste collections, and is designed to help councils reach the national targets. The countrys non-statutory recycling targets, which include recycling 50% of waste by 2013, 70% by 2025 with a maximum of 5% waste sent to landfill, were outlined in its Zero Waste Plan in 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). Scotlands recycling rate hit 40.7% in 2011.

Progress

Discussing the progress to date of Scottish councils, Mr Lochhead said: We are making funds available to councils to help them meet our ambition. Councils have made huge progress. Seven councils have already hit the challenging 50% recycling target by adopting a ‘can do’ approach. We encourage all councils to work with Zero Waste Scotland and take advantage of this targeted additional investment to help them make further progress.

But this is also about a much bigger prize. It is about keeping valuable materials circulating in our economy so we can create jobs and business opportunities here in Scotland.

Resources

Also at the conference, the Resource Association, the trade body for the reprocessing and recycling industries, published a Scottish policy statement. In the statement, the Association emphasises the importance of high quality recyclate for reprocessors in Scotland as well as the wider UK and EU. It adds that high quality feedstock is critical to the success of recycling in Scotland.

Chief executive of the Resource Association, Ray Georgeson, praised the Scottish governments efforts in supporting source separated collections through the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 which were approved in May 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Association says in the statement:The Scottish Government has indicated in the new Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 its support for source separation and that co-mingled collection is only allowable on the proviso it can achieve high quality recycling similar to that achieved by source separation. This presents a real challenge for Scotland along the whole supply chain for local authorities, collection and sorting contractors, the reprocessing sector, and Government.

Elsewhere in the statement, the Resource Association focuses on the potential for employment, investment and carbon reduction that the new Regulations could bring, and issues a call for investors to take a fresh look at investment opportunities in Scottish recycling and reprocessing. It adds that the condence of the public and of business is critical to future recycling success.

Discussing employment, the statement says: Added value for the Scottish economy can be generated through a supply chain approach that prioritises the integrity of recovered materials at the point of collection, with job creation coming through improved collection schemes, sorting and manufacturing as well as food waste collection and processing.
IT concludes: We are rmly of the view that Scotlands ambitions for a more resource-based economy and Zero Waste can be realised, but it needs the collaboration of all in the resources supply chain and strong leadership from Government to be met by industry and councils alike.