The funding is the latest round of the 230 million Strategic Waste Fund announced in last September's Scottish Budget (see letsrecycle.com story). The grants will be given in installments until 2020, a total of 24 million will go to Aberdeen city council and 71 million will go to a consortium made up of North, South and East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway councils.
Scottish environment minister Ross Finnie said: “Every household in Scotland produces waste and the way it is handled affects us all. This new funding will provide many households and communities with much more sustainable ways to manage waste.”
He added: “Material buried in landfill sites contributes to global warming, damages our environment and blots our landscape. This material is often a valuable resource that can be managed in more sustainable ways. By providing funds to help councils put the area waste plans into practice we are helping them to meet targets for waste minimisation, recycling and reduction in landfill.”
Plans
Aberdeen city council received the funding to implement its recycling strategy, which includes segregated kerbside collection for 80,000 households (80% coverage). Additionally, the strategy plans for communal recycling bids to upgrade recycling centres and bring sites as well as introducing a green waste composting campaign. It is hoped that the funding will help Aberdeen reach its recycling targets of 25% by 2005-06 and 27% by 2007-2008.
Responding to the announcement, Councillor Kate Dean said: “This is fantastic news for the city of Aberdeen. Working with our North East Area Waste Plan partners, this grant award will enable Aberdeen city council to meet the challenging targets that have been set and allow us to implement our 20 year integrated sustainable waste management plan. It will revolutionise waste management in Aberdeen.”
For 2003-04 the council plans to introduce 12,000 brown bins for garden and kitchen waste, 20,000 kerbside boxes for paper, plastic bottles, cans and glass and to create 15 mini recycling centres.
The consortium of Dumfries and Galloway, North, South and East Ayrshire councils have an average recycling target of 28% by 2005-06. The four local authorities received the grant in order to implement a segregated kerbside collection of recyclable materials in order to reach the target.
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