Launched in March 2021 by Zero Waste Scotland on behalf of the Scottish government, more than £20 million has already been awarded to councils to help them boost recycling rates.
This comes as the government has set an ambitious 70% recycling rate in the next four years. In 2020, the country recorded a 42%, a 2.9% drop from 2019.
Talking to letsrecycle.com, Ray Georgeson, head of resource management, waste and recycling at Zero Waste Scotland, explained details on the £70 million five-year programme.
He said the fund is being kept as “wide as possible” to give Scottish local authorities “every chance” to come forward with proposals that will “genuinely move the dial” in terms of recycling rates.
Mr Georgeson said: “We are keen to see partnerships come forward, so private sector and third sector partners are very welcome to talk to local authorities to encourage new ideas into the system.
“The fund is very much focused on capital expenditure so buildings, vehicles, containers, and recycling equipment. The idea is that it maximises the impact in terms of carbon reducing, and quality of recyclate produced.”
Scope
Mr Georgeson also explained that there are now 16 live projects to come from the fund, worth around £20 million.
He noted: “We are seeing a wide range of projects come forward. In Edinburgh there is a huge investment going on in revamping on street collection systems. In West Lothian, it is using the funding to move to a twin stream recycling system.
“There is an interesting project in the western Isles to fund an electric RCV connected to a service change. So its very wide ranging. We are trying to keep the scope of the fund as wide as possible to give local authorities every chance to come forward with proposals that will genuinely move the dial in terms of recycling performance.”
Zero Waste Scotland added that the investment to date could reduce CO2 emissions by as much 21,400 tonnes each year — the equivalent of taking 11,400 cars off the road.
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